From Dreams to Nightmares
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: After spending one year in the Great Clock, Circuit is happy with the afterlife. But she is startled when her spirit is suddenly ripped from the Clock and dragged back into life. After waking up, she is greeted by a Cazar named Sasha, but she is not interested. She only wants to see Ratchet and Clank again, and she is completely unaware of the new evil lurking around the universe.
1. Chapter 1

_'...Would you ever believe someone when they told you that the universe has a sense of humor? Chances are, you would think that that person was crazy and walk away without saying another word, and there are some people who are like that. But, I am much different. True, I did not quite understand when someone told me that the universe tells jokes, and even I thought that he was a little nuts, but turns out, it is true. Every conflict, every adventure in your life is a joke that the universe is telling, and it is up to you to make the punchline. If you do not finish your journey though, you will turn the joke into a bad one, and no one likes a bad joke. I learned about the universe's sense of humor through an adventure of my own, but that took place a long time ago. However, though I knew a lot of people and even had a father and someone that I was in love with, no one can recall me ever existing. I made sure of that. My name is XJ-0462, but I used to be known as Circuit. And I am the robot who erased her own existence.'_

 **The Great Clock**

Circuit stood motionless on a high balcony, an abyss of clock, Zoni, and the void of space beneath her. A draft of wind blew upwards, making particles of her light blue being shake around somewhat violently. Her eyes just kept looking forward, making no movements whatsoever. Even though her body was blue and made completely out of light, her eyes were still their original violet color, which looked nice. Violet always looked nice her.

A few Zoni flew by Circuit, one of them stopping to look at her, then floating away with its friends. The Zoni actually couldn't see her, no one could except for one robot, but they could sense her presence. So it was like they could see her, but they really can't. Unfortunately, one of the Zoni sensed her a little too late and accidentally went through her spiritual torso, making the robot yelp with surprise and also making her stumble forward a little bit. She caught herself at the edge, but looking down didn't exactly calm her. When she saw the giant abyss that laid below her, the little spirit gave a small shriek of surprise and she backed up. Then she yelled downwards.

"Sigmund! Stop the timer! No more! I'm coming down right now!"

Circuit jumped off the platform that she was on and floated downwards to a lower floor. Waiting for her was the red and white robot known as Sigmund, who was in charge of the Great Clock when the son of Orvus wasn't there. He had a stopwatch in his hand, and he had stopped it when Circuit said so. She hovered right in front of him, trying to get a look at the watch. She looked a bit excited. mostly because she was no longer up high.

"How did I do? How did I do?"

"Well, um...you did your best," Sigmund said nervously, showing her the stopwatch.

Circuit's shoulders and legs dropped when she saw the time: 41.27 seconds. She wasn't anywhere close to breaking her previous record (1 minute, 12 seconds). The little spirit hung her head next, looking disappointed in herself.

"I am never going to get over this ridiculous fear of heights..."

"Aw come on, don't say that," Sigmund said, trying to sound cheerful. "It's tough getting over a fear. I'm sure that you'll conquer it someday."

"Yeah right. I am as much of a coward as I was when I was alive," Circuit said, floating closer to the ground.

"I don't think that you're a coward. I mean, you did stand up to your brother when he was beating you up, that was pretty brave."

"Thank you, Sigmund," Circuit said quietly, looking up at the larger robot.

Circuit and Sigmund had been getting along ever since they met. When Circuit arrived at the Great Clock, her first instinct when meeting a new person was to hide from them, so that's what she did. Thing was though, the little spirit's presence scared the metal off of Sigmund, so he hid as well. But, when a Zoni came over to him and told him who the spirit was, a little girl, and not some sort monster, he felt a lot more comfortable around her. Of course, it took a bit of time for Circuit to get used to Sigmund, but over time, they found themselves forming a friendship with each other. You could even call them best friends.

The spirit of Circuit was enjoying her time at the clock. The Zoni were nice to her, when they sensed her of course. Though sometimes, when they did sense her, they would just follow her around, sometimes for the whole day. But besides the stalker Zoni, Circuit was prepared to call the Clock her home. She had been living there for roughly over year. A few months ago, Circuit turned nine. At least that's what her file in the clock archives said, date of birth: November 2nd.

Circuit spent most of her time with Sigmund, since no one else could see or hear her, and that was Orvus's doing. They spent their time doing chores around the Great Clock and making sure that time was kept safe. But, when they weren't busy protecting the space-time continuum, they lounged around in the Orvus Chamber. There was a console located in the Great Clock that had intrigued Circuit, but Sigmund just told her that it was used for recordings, projections and it can even be a TV. Learning that, Circuit had Sigmund turn the console on to a show about heroes, since that was her favorite thing ever. The two robots would spend hours watching Behind the Hero and any news reports about heroes. But, Circuit was only interested in the reports and episodes about Ratchet and Clank. If the description had the names "Ratchet and Clank" in it, she always made sure that she and Sigmund finished their chores on time so they could watch.

Ratchet and Clank did on on an adventure like the ones that Ratchet had once told Circuit about. But instead of taking on Dr. Nefarious or Chairman Drek, the duo had to stop the criminal activities of Vendra and Neftin Prog. There was footage of Ratchet and Clank fighting a giant pink and purple monster called "Mr. Eye". The little spirit covered her eyes at several parts, fearing the worst for her friends, but they came out of it okay. She was happy that they had won, but happiness was replaced by sadness when the deaths of Cronk and Zephyr were announced. That news made Circuit a little depressed for a few days, but she was fine afterwards.

When Circuit watched the interviews and footage of Ratchet and Clank, she was happy to see their own happiness. Neither of them looked upset, like they had lost someone close to them. Nope, their lives were awesome, and they weren't aware that a close friend had died, probably because they were forced to forget about that close friend. The thought about being forgotten by everyone did make Circuit a little sad, but as long as Ratchet and were happy, she was happy.

However, today was an unhappy day. Circuit had once again failed to overcome her fear of heights, which always made her disappointed in herself. So she hovered towards the Orvus Chamber and looked over her light blue shoulder.

"Sigmund, I think that I am going to retire to the Chamber. I am going to watch it again, you can join me if you want to."

"You're gonna watch it again? That's gonna be the ninth time this month!"

"I know, I just always feel better when I watch it, you know that. Again, you can join me if you want."

Circuit kept going forward, whether Sigmund followed or not. She was on her way to watch one of the only things that could cheer her up. The spirit was on her way to watch the video of her lost memories, from before she had woken up in the dump.

* * *

 **Okay okay okay okay okay...I can explain. But I'm first gonna tell y'all that you're very very very VERY lucky. A new Ratchet and Clank Movie Trailer was released (if you haven't seen it yet, for the love of Orvus, stop reading and go watch it. It looks freaking amazing) and that got my hype/happiness levels through the roof. So happy in fact that I decided to release the prologue for the Violet Eyes Sequel early. So if wasn't for that movie, I would have released this at the planned time, which was two weeks from Sunday. But I'm not releasing any info on this story yet (with the exception of the summary). That'll come later. This is more like a sneak peek chapter. I probably won't post another chapter until the original release date of this story. So, for now, just treat this as some sort of new epilogue for the original Violet Eyes story. I know that it's SUPER early to be releasing a sequel, but i just couldn't help myself.**

 **...If you haven't watched the new movie trailer and you're still reading this, what are doing?! GO TO YOUTUBE RIGHT NOW! Go on! Right now! The hype levels are through the roof right now! Don't miss out!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	2. Chapter 2

Circuit zipped through the labyrinth known as the Great Clock, occasionally passing through Zoni who sensed her at the wrong time. She left behind a short trail of light behind as she floated down each building. Sigmund wasn't following her, meaning that he probably went to another sector of the clock to go do some extra chores that needed to be done.

When Circuit arrived the the entrance to the Orvus Chamber, she simply went through the wall instead of trying to unlock it. Being a ghost, or a spirit as she preferred it, she didn't really need to open doors or anything like that. Thought it was nice and fairly handy, Circuit only went through objects if it was necessary. Whenever she did, she felt so...unreal. It reminded her that she was dead. And that was never a good feeling.

The little spirit zipped over to the control panel in the Chamber, going through the terminal and locating a file containing a video. The file was labeled "XJ0462MMRS", meaning "Xj-0461 Memories". Circuit remembered when she first came across this file. It was a little less than a year ago and Sigmund was showing her a certain machine that can be found only in the clock.

 _"A Mnemonic Station?" Circuit asked, floating curiously around the strange glass chamber._

 _"Yep. XJ-0461 used these when he was here at the Clock. You go into them and you can enter your own memory banks," Sigmund said with a nod._

 _"My own memory banks..." the spirit said quietly, placing her light blue hands on the glass. If this machine could show her any of her memories, does that mean that it can show her...? "Sigmund...do you think that I can use this machine?"_

 _"Hmm, it's questionable." The robot started a bit of researching on his attached screen. After a few moments, he looked up at his new friend. "You can use it, but because your actual memory banks are in your old body, you can't physically enter them. However, we can download your memories into a file and put them in the Clock terminal. Then we can just pull up the file, play the video, and then project them in the Orvus Chamber. How about that?"_

 _"I can just watch my memories like some sort of video?" Circuit said quietly. Then she floated down in front of Sigmund, blue particles flickering around her. "I want to do it! I want to see my lost memories! Can you help me, Sigmund? Please?"_

 _"Of course I can! Just get inside the chamber and I'll download everything that's in your memory banks, forgotten or not."_

Circuit pulled up the file and then the video inside, then she turned on the projector that showed the picture in the center of the Chamber. A play button blinked on the panel, and the little spirit's finger hovered over it. She closed her eyes, took a deep theoretical breath, then pressed play. Then she quickly zipped over to the projection, lowered herself onto the ground and sitting down. The memories played, her violet eyes reflecting everything as she watched.

The screen showed Circuit opening her eyes for the first time, several doctor robots looking down at her. They looked very worried, and one of them even went off screen and had a miniature panic attack.

 _"We messed up guys, we messed up bad," one of the doctors said._

 _"How could we make such a stupid mistake? And what's with the eyes?"_

 _"Shh! He's coming! He's coming!"_

 _"Let me see! Let me see!" Yelled a distinctly familiar high voice. Nefarious shoved his way through the doctors and scientists, wanting to see his new creation. He looked closely, then turned sharply to look at the other figures "What the-IDIOTS! You got the eye color wrong!" He grabbed one of the smaller doctors and thrusted him forward "Does THAT look green to you?!"_

 _"I'm sorry sir! So sorry! But..." the doctor drifted off._

 _"But what?!"_

 _"B-b-but...I uh...I don't think that the eye color is the only thing we got wrong..."_

 _"What? What are you...oh...ohhh...NO!" Nefarious yelled, observing a certain part of the little, now known as a female, robot. "HOW COULD YOU MAKE SUCH AN IDIOTIC MISTAKE?! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH...H-HER NOW?!"_

 _"We're sorry, sir, we really are! But...m-maybe she won't have to go to waste. I mean, we took the time to make her, you might as well use her for something. A service droid or anything that you want!"_

 _"Hmm...well, I could always use a service droid..." Nefarious got into his creations face, "Looks like today's your lucky day you filthy little error." He walked away for a moment, then came back with black fabric in his hands. He threw it onto her. "Cover yourself up. You have work to do."_

The video cut to another memory. Circuit, or Error as she was know as then, was sitting in a small metal room. She had that black fabric in her hands, as well as a sewing needle and some black thread. She was putting the last few stitches in her newly made jacket. She jumped a little when she heard a voice.

 _"ERROR! Get in here at once!" Nefarious yelled over the speaker._

 _Error sighed and she quickly put the last three stitches in her jacket. After that, she raised it up in the air and smiled at it, it looked beautiful. And it was the only thing that she owned, so it was very important to her. Error threw the jacket on then exited her cell...er, room. Then she walked down the hallways and took a right into Dr. Nefarious's office. He was in a giant chair watching Secret Agent Clank holofilms. She sighed dreamily a little as she watched Agent Clank fight through his opponents. That Clank guy was kind of cute._

 _"Did you need something Doctor Nefarious?" Error asked, walking up to her creator._

 _"Yes, I need your opinion on something..." He quickly turned in his his chair, making Error jump. He looked down at the little defect, his expression becoming a confused one, then an angry one. "What's with the jacket? It looks stupid. Nevermind, I don't care. Now then, I'm thinking about repainting my office, which would go better with my evil personality?" The doctor held up two colored cards. "the color of Agent Clank's brilliant green eyes or the color of Agent Clank's black and silver space cruiser?"_

 _Error looked between both color cards, placing a digit on her chin. They both did look nice, but there was something attracting her to that lovely and brilliant green color. So, she pointing to the green colored card. "That green looks amazing. I like that one."_

 _"Got it, the black and silver it is!" Nefarious said, throwing the brilliant green card into the trash._

 _Error looked confused "I uh...I do not understand. You asked which one I liked better, and you went with the complete opposite of my answer."_

 _"Because, you're a girl. And everyone knows that a girl's opinion isn't worth anything. Especially from a girl who was originally supposed to be a boy," the insane robot replied, tapping Error on the head annoyingly. "Now get out of my sight! You're intruding on my Secret Agent Clank time."_

 _Error sighed and turned around, walking out of the room as Dr. Nefarious returned to his television show. Sometimes, she wished that she was a good guy like Agent Clank. Something told her that good guys' creations are treated nicer._

The video cut to yet another memory. Circuit was peeking out from behind a door, she was trying her best to stay hidden. The room she was peeking into had the same doctors and scientists from before, and Dr. Nefarious was there too. They were surrounded around a metal table, they were finishing some sort of project.

 _Error held the door tight and stayed as quiet as possible as she looked in on her creators. She was very curious about what sort of project they were working on. Whatever it was, Dr. Nefarious was very excited about it._

 _"Oh for the love of me, is it done yet?!" The doctor yelled impatiently._

 _"Almost, we just need to connect a few more tubes..." one of the scientists said._

 _After a few moments, a large spark came from whatever they were working on, making everyone jump, even Error. Then Nefarious shoved everyone out of the way, grabbing what appeared to be part of metal casing and placing it on top of the owner. Then he smiled as a red glow reflected off of his face. Error gripped the door even tighter, what was going on?_

 _"It's alive! No, no! HE'S ALIVE! Mwahahahahaha! Welcome to your life...Klunk!"_

 _Error felt everything drop as a robot who looked exactly like her sit up. He had big, blood red eyes, and he looked so menacing that it almost made the purple eyed robot wet herself. She shook violently as Klunk let loose a dark, evil giggle._

 _"Hehehehehee!"_

Once again, the video was brought to another memory. This time, Circuit was in Nefarious' office, watching the same screen that had been showing Secret Agent Clank. Only, instead of seeing the heroic adventures of Agent Clank, they were watching the horrible scene of organics being turned into robots by the Biobliterator.

 _"Muahahahaha!" Nefarious laughed as he watched. Error could barely watch, what was going on was horrible. She knew that she was evil, but this was a little too much. Turning organics into robots against their own will? That was just...mean! She couldn't watch anymore, so she turned around and tried to exit the room, but Dr. Nefarious's voice stopped her. "Hey, where are you going? You're missing out!"_

 _"I um...I am not entirely uncomfortable watching all of that...s-s-sir."_

 _"Not comfortable? This is everything that I've worked for! It's a beautiful sight!"_

 _"Not to me. Watching organics being forced to turn into robots is...unsettling to me."_

 _"UGH! You are such a disappointment! It's good that I don't let you around your brother. Speaking of which, his mission will begin very shortly, and I know that he won't fail."_

And, finally, the video cut to the last memory. Circuit was in the same room as she was in the last memory, but there was an unsettling feeling in the air. Dr. Nefarious looked extraordinarily angry. There was also some sort of weird four eyed robot in the same room, and it was holding a gun. The video on the screen showed Ratchet finishing off a giant version of Klunk. The large, red eyed robot was struck with a large wrench, and he fell off the train that they were fighting on, dead.

 _"No no no no no NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I put my faith into Klunk, AND YOU FAILED ME!"_

 _Error stood there with her hands in her pockets. It made her a little sad watching Klunk get taken down, he was her brother after all. Even though they never did meet each other. And that Lombax...wow. He was kind of awesome. Error wondered if she would ever meet him one day, but the odds of that happening were unbelievable. Her eyes formed a sad and worried look as the Biobliterator flew through the city of Metropolis, turning organics into robots. She wondered if the four eyed robot in the room was once organic? But her questioning thoughts were interrupted by the sound of people in Metropolis screaming as the Biobliterator stormed through the area. She had to say something about this, she just had to say something. So she looked up at Nefarious._

 _"Doctor Nefarious, why must you force organics to turn into robot? What if they do not want to be robots?"_

 _"What did you just say?! WHY am I doing this?!" Nefarious yelled. He bent down and got into Error's face. "I'm doing this because we robots are superior! Squishies have no room in this universe, robot are the dominant species! So every squishy will become like us, whether they like it or not! But, with this Lombax on the loose, my goal is becoming VERY difficult to reach! But, I swear, I will not stop until every squishy has been biobliterated! And I don't care what some rejected, male looking robot has to say about it!"_

 _"But this is not fair!" Error yelled, finally raising her voice "Why can you not let these people have a choice? You cannot force them to-" She said on the verge of tears._

 _"You know what? I've about had enough of you! You're obviously not evil like I wanted you to be, and I don't want a good guy constantly questioning my plans! You are of no use to me no more! Kill her!" The doctor yelled at the four eyed robot._

 _The four eyed robot pointed its blaster at Error, who was trying to run away. The commando quickly ran a few feet to get a good shot, then he pulled the trigger._

 _"No! Leave me alone! No! NO! AHHHHHHH!"_

 _Error felt a horrific pain in her right side, then she fell to the floor. Her vision was fading, but she could see the pool of blood forming around her. Then, with the drop of her head, she was believed to be dead._

Circuit floated slightly on the ground as her lost memories ended. That last part was both the best and worst part for her. The best part because Nefarious had told her that she wasn't evil, but the worst part because she had essentially died and then spent eight years in a dump.

Speaking of the dump, the memories didn't show her what happened to her when she was unconscious in that landfill. Luckily, Sigmund was able to inform her. Truth was, Circuit was actually going to die, because her processor was between powered on and shut down. However, it turned out that her encounter with Orvus in the afterlife wasn't the first time she had met him. Orvus had apparently watching over her for awhile, because he was curious about a robot who looked like his one of a kind son. He had actually grown to like her, because he detected no trace of evil in her aura, but she was built by an evil person. And apparently, he had felt extremely bad when Circuit was shot and nearly killed. So bad, that he actually personally ordered some Zoni to give her processor a jump start as it was still active, but he would only do this once for her. He waited for hours for the little robot to wake up, but she never did, so he had to give up hope. Then, eight years later, she came back to life.

Circuit wished that she could see Orvus again so she could thank him, but she didn't know how to see him again. But there was something else that she had to be grateful for. Not only did the Zoni give her a bit of life to help her out of her coma, but, turned out, the little creatures left a trace of their species in her. Sigmund said it was called the "Zoni's Blessing", and he, Circuit and Clank might be the only robots in existence who have the blessing. And apparently, this blessing was responsible for Circuit's ability to upgrade weapons. The Zoni had given her power, and she had no idea! However, thinking about her power made her think about being alive...and that sometimes put her in a sad mood.

Circuit was about to turn around and turn the video off, but then her other memories started playing. She glanced over her light blue shoulder, and she her eyes eyes went a little wide as she saw Ratchet and Clank's smiling faces. It was the morning where she had woken up in their apartment.

" _So, I'll have to name you after something."_

 _"Like what?" She asked._

 _"Well, I'm not naming you Jacket, Clank would probably scowl at me."_

 _"Do not tempt me," Clank said._

 _"You were pretty damaged when we found you, but Damage isn't really an appropriate name."_

 _"No it is not, especially for a female robot," Clank said_

 _"Yeah, if you could stop talking for a moment, that would be fantastic. Hm...oh! I know! When I was fixing you, you had so many broken circuit boards. Seriously, I spent almost an hour fixing them. So, how about Circuit?"_

The little spirit paused the video, then she floated up to the projection. A sad look came upon her face as she looked at Ratchet and Clank. She missed them so much, she really did. And she would give anything in order to just talk to them again, However, Sigmund was the only one who could see her, no one else. And speaking of Sigmund...

"Those two loved you very much," Sigmund said, hovering into the room.

"I know...but they do not know that anymore," Circuit said quietly.

"I still can't believe that you had everyone forget you. Doesn't that make you sad?"

"All the time. But it was for the best. I could not stand watching Ratchet and Clank mourn over me. I wanted them to be happy...and happy they are."

"...You want to go back, don't you? Back to being alive, I mean."

"Of course I do, but you know that I cannot do that, Sigmund. I am dead. And I will remain dead for the rest of eternity..." Circuit replied, shutting the video off. She floated over to Sigmund, who had a sympathetic look on his face. "Do you mind if I sit out for the rest of today's chores?"

"Of course not. I'll take care of everything, don't you worry."

"Thank you, Sigmund."

And with that, Circuit floated out of the Orvus Chamber and outside. Then she glided against the side of the wall and up to the roof of the Chamber. She went to the very center of the roof and sat down, pulling her glowing knees up to her chest and hugging them. Circuit looked out into the void of space, wanting to see the stars. But, unfortunately, the light of the Great Clock made seeing the star very difficult. so she just sat there with herself, tiny blue particles floating around her. Then she murmured to herself.

"It was easy to forget about me...but it is impossible to forget about the two of you."

* * *

 **Okay, I felt bad for not putting up anything else, so I whipped this up a week early!**

 **Anyway, sorry for only one update this weekend, I was a bit busy. I went to a Halloween party (I didn't dress up like the TARDIS, what are you talking about?!) and it was awesome! But the sad part is that it took me sixteen years to get invited to a Halloween party...**

 **ANYWAY I'll update Follow the Universe tomorrow. It's gonna be a very fun chapter.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Planet Zanifar**

Sasha Phyronix was a strong woman, usually up for anything that comes her way. However, she couldn't help but let out an annoying sigh as she stepped foot on the lovely planet of Zanifar. Here we go again, she thought to herself, another Nefarious sweep. It was the second week in and she was starting to become a bit tired of the journey that she was taking throughout the universe.

The galactic government was very paranoid about the sudden appearance of a new and improved Biobliterator that occurred a year ago. And that made them even more paranoid about Dr. Nefarious rising up again and trying to wipe out all organics. They would do something about it, but, unfortunately, they had no idea where the insane robot one. So, much to Sasha's annoyance, they ordered the Starship Phoenix and the Galactic Rangers, or "Q-Force" as Captain Qwark renamed them, a "Nefarious Sweep" to take place every other month. Every other month, the Starship Phoenix is sent coordinates to a variety of planets that may have shown signs of Dr. Nefarious activity. Sometimes the list of planets was short, and sometimes it was long. but, no matter what the length, it always took roughly one to three weeks in order to finish the sweep. No one on the Q-Force liked doing the sweeps, but they had no choice. Not all orders are agreeable.

So far, they had been to six planets, searching every corner for Nefarious. One of which was Pokitaru, where they ended up having more fun than actually looking for a villain. Another one was Rykan V, which Sasha seriously questioned why Nefarious would be there. All that was there was a bunch of lava and rocks, what would a villain do with those? The majority of the planets they they had been to hardly had any connection to Nefarious, Zanifar was actually the first one to make complete sense. If a Biobliterator was secretly under construction here once in the past year, then yes, this was a good place to look.

Sasha decided to start in the area where Nefarious's little secret base was hidden. They just had to looked for some clue that Nefarious was there recently. It was ridiculous, but it was necessary in order to find the villain. Several Ranger...er, Q-Force soldiers went inside the base and looked around while the rest stayed outside. Sasha found herself being tired, mostly because she had been doing nothing but looking for a missing psycho for the past week. Being captain of an organization was fun, but it had its downsides sometimes. She just wished that the sweep was over with and that she could go back to her life. Because sweep month was boring, it really was. Nothing interesting ever happened.

After about two hours or searching, Sasha decided to call the search off. Nefarious wasn't there, he hasn't been for the past year. So she called back all the soldiers and had them report back to the Phoenix. The Cazar sighed, Zanifar was done. Seven planets down...five more to go.

Sasha turned around and was about to enter the box like ship with the other Rangers so they could head back to the Phoenix, but the sound of a horrified shriek made her ears stand up. She turned around and saw a robot soldier looking down at a pile of dirt...a pile of disturbed dirt. He jumped and pointed at the ground.

"H-Hey! Guys! I think that I found a body!"

"What do you mean you found a body?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm uh, not a doctor, but that's a robot foot if I ever saw one."

"Let me take a look." Sasha walked over to where the soldier was freaking out and got on her knees. She observed the disturbed dirt and she gasped. Sure enough, there was a little metal foot showing a little bit of itself through the ground. But what made her gasp was that she recognized that foot... "Help me dig it up."

Sasha and the soldier put their hands into the soil and scooped it out of the ground, throwing it to their side. As they dug, more of the robot was uncovered. It had a small, box like body, a black chest compartment door, two short legs and two short arms with three fingered hands, a small round head with a little antenna on top. Sasha shook her head as she grabbed the little robot and pulled it out of the whole. The soldier looked at the robot as well.

"Hey! That looks like Sergeant's little backpack friend!"

"Yeah...yeah it does..." Sasha said quietly. The Cazar's mind was racing. Who in the world was this? It couldn't be Clank, she knew that for a fact. If Clank was dead, it would have been all over the news, and no doubt Ratchet would have told her. No, this robot was definitely someone else. Sasha pulled at the filthy and torn up black jacket it was wearing. What kind of robot wore jackets? She had too many questions for her to be just sitting there, she had to get this robot up and running again so she could get some answers. So she handed the limp robot to the soldier. "We'll take it to the hospital when we get back. If we're lucky, we'll get it running again. We'll just have to see what our doctors can do."

"Yes, Captain," the soldier replied, looking a bit grossed out as he took the body (even though he didn't really have a face...).

The soldier and Sasha walked into the ship, the other soldiers wanting to look at the body. Their Captain waved them off because she didn't want the body to be dropped or anything. The poor robot looked like that it was already damaged enough, it didn't need to be dropped.

The ship hovered off the ground and took off into the air, leaving Zanifar behind. As they flew, Sasha placed her hands behind her back and glanced at the robot body out the corner of her eye. Its silver skin was covered with dirt, and its jacket was trashed. It was almost pitiful. However, pity could wait. The main question still remained in the Cazar's mind. Just who was this robot?

 **The Great Clock**

As the morning hours rolled into the Great Clock, Sigmund hovered throughout the structure and into the Orvus Chamber. It was time to start the daily chores, but he needed to wake a certain someone up. The red robot went into the Chamber and looked up at the glowing blue energy that danced on the ceiling. He put his hands about his mouth and shouted.

"Hey, Circuit, it's morning, wake up! Are you in there?"

A pair of purple eyes slowly opened in the middle of the energy. They looked a little droopy. They stayed there for a few moments before sinking downwards towards the bottom. Then a piece of energy was separated from its source, it looked like a water droplet falling off a round glowing ice cube. The droplet floated downwards, and on the way down it shape shifted into the form of a certain small robot's body.

Circuit hovered a few feet off the ground. After fully materializing, she stretched and yawned, then rubbed her eyes.

"Meh..."

"Good morning, Circuit. Ready to start the day?"

"Mehhh..."

Circuit dropped down to the ground and curled up into a little ball. She didn't want to get up and do chores today, all she wanted to do was sleep. Call her her father, but if there was one thing she loved, it was sleeping in. However, Sigmund wasn't having none of this. He reached down and attempted to shake the little spirit's shoulder.

"Come on, it's time to get up. We've got work to do-oh!"

Sigmund's hand went through Circuit's being, making the little spirit jump. She floated off the ground, making Sigmund's hand leave her body. The red robot felt very bad. He knew that Circuit hated it when things passed through her body, it always reminded her that she was...dead. The poor girl was already coping with the fact that no one in the universe remembered her, she didn't need to be reminded that she was a spirit too.

"Circuit, I-I-I am so sorry-"

"It is alright, Sigmund," Circuit said, trying to look happy. She floated up to him. "Come on...let's go do the chores."

"Oh! Um...r-right. We uh...we have to wind the gear cleaners and the computer said that a small time anomaly formed on Planet Ardolis, so we'll have to fix that."

"Sounds good," the spirit replied, taking a seat next to the weird pink plant that Sigmund kept with him. She remained there was Sigmund hovered out of the room and towards their first destination. She was about to say something, but a flash of white came into her vision, and, for a brief moment, she felt her whole being become disconnected from reality. The feeling made her quickly fly upwards and shake her head. "Wh-What was that?"

"Huh? Is something wrong Circuit?" Sigmund asked.

Circuit blinked a few times and shook her head once more. Then she returned to her place next to Sigmund's plant, "N-No. I must still be a bit drowsy. I am not one for waking up before ten, I have da...Ratchet to thank for that. Come on, let's hurry up and finish so we can watch TV."

Sigmund shrugged and continued on. Circuit sat there, her being leaving behind a vague and misty trail. She seriously wondered what had just happened. It felt like that she had been yanked by something in a flash of white light, it was really weird. Maybe her body was still getting used to being on the clock's spiritual plane that Orvus had made for her. Yes...yes that was it.

 **Starship Phoenix**

After entering the reports for the search on Zanifar, Sasha quickly made her way into the hospital wing, and the first thing she saw was the ship doctor and a soldier standing around one of the beds. And on that bed was the limp body of the robot they had found on Zanifar. Its metal casing had been removed and its round red heart was showing. But there was no light, so so far, the doctor had been unsuccessful. He looked up when he saw the Captain.

"Greetings Captain Sasha," the robot doctor said.

"Hello, Doctor Wyre. Any luck with the patient?"

"Mm, we got a single spark, but we lost it within seconds. But we're not giving up. After we clean up the circuitry and reconnect some wires, we'll try again."

"Good. We need to get it back up and running. It might have some info on Nefarious-"

"She," the doctor interrupted.

"W-Wait, what?" The Cazar asked, looking confused.

"This robot, it's a female."

"A female? Great, more questions to be shoved up into my mind..." Sasha murmured annoyingly.

"Yeah, well, whoever owned this little girl wasn't exactly the nicest to her apparently. She's full of dents, covered in blood, and her leg is broken."

Sasha walked over to the side of the bed and observed the little robot. Doctor Wyre was right, she was in really bad shape. There was a dent in her head and a few in her torso. Her jaw was a little out of place and her face was covered in dried oil blood. And her right leg was bent inwards, which made Sasha wince. What in the world had this robot been through? Was she used as some sort of battle droid? Whoever did this to her must have been a real jerk...

Sasha looked at the soldier in the room, "Hey, what exactly are you doing in here?"

"Oh uh, I kinda wanted to stay in here. I want to see if she makes it," the soldier replied.

"And we'll let you know if she does. Dismiss soldier."

"Yes, Captain."

The soldier marched out of the room, leaving just Sasha and Doctor Wyre. The Cazar pulled up a nearby chair and sat down next to the bed while Doctor Wyre proceeded to carefully link up detached wires. Knowing that this might take awhile, the Cazar had some time to herself to think. Mainly about who or what this little robot was. It being girl was definitely news to her. A female Clank, it was a weird as it sounded. At once glance, no one would have ever guessed that she was a girl, she looked like a boy. Though it was rude to say, it was true, she really did look male. She wasn't going to say that to the robot's face, that would just be mean.

Another thing that Sasha wondered was if the little robot knew Nefarious at all. She had been buried outside his base where the Biobliterator 2.5 was constructed, so she must have some sort of connection to the evil doctor. Another thing that she wanted to know was who beat the poor girl up. Sasha had seen some beaten robots in her day, but none as badly as this little one. Speaking of little, the robot's age was also something that she wanted to know. If she was correct, Clank was fourteen years old, so she couldn't be older than that. This little robot was most likely a kid, maybe even a little kid. And thinking that someone would beat up a little kid filled Sasha with rage. However, she had to hold it back. She had to focus on the main question: did this robot know Nefarious or not. Dr. Nefarious's whereabouts was the most important thing at the moment, so that's what she had to focus on.

Sasha stood up and prepared to walk out of the hospital wing, but the sound of sparking made her stop. She turned around and saw Doctor Wyre connecting the last few wires, which sparked when they touch. Then he took a big, theoretical breath as he grabbed a small tube connected to the little robot's heart. He inserted the tube into its proper spot, and it sparked even more. As her heart sparked, Doctor Wyre put his hands together, praying that it would work.

After a few moments, Sasha's ears picked up a tiny humming sound coming from the heart. And her eyes went wide as the little red organ gave off the dimmest glow. Doctor Wyre smiled big and put two fingers on the robot's heart. After sixty seconds, his smile grew even bigger and he looked up at Sasha.

"We've got a pulse."

* * *

 **Okay, this was a bit more of a short chapter, but it moved the plot along, so that's good.**

 **And don't y'all question how Doctor Wyre was able to revive Circuit. Everything will be explained later!**

 **Oh, and fun fact: The name "Wyre" was one of Circuit's beta names. Others included Jacket, Damage, Alpha, Violet, and Clanka. Aren't fun facts awesome?**

 **So I'll probably get the next chapter up tomorrow because I'm really excited to write it!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	4. Chapter 4

Circuit loved the gear room, she really, really did.

One of Sigmund's chores at the clock was to wind these tiny robots that were located in the gear room, a room full of turning gears, large and small. However, because Circuit couldn't grab any of the gear cleaners (they would just go right through her), she would just play around on the big gears. She would jump and zip around from gear to gear, acting like a little kid at a playground, it looked like that she was having the time of her life. However, she tried to play a little harder today to distract her from the weird things that she was feeling.

Ever since she had experienced that weird disconnection from the clock, and white flashed before her eyes, she had been feeling strange things inside of her torso. Every now and again she would jump because a small shock came from within her. Every time it happened, she became more and more concerned. Also, Circuit was experiencing a large sense of coldness, like something had been removed from her and her whole being was being exposed to colder air. It was really weird. She had half a mind to tell Sigmund, but he had enough on his plate already. Besides, maybe this was normal. Like she had thought before, maybe her body is still settling on the spiritual plane. Or maybe it was having weird side effects because she didn't get enough time to re-energize in the Clock's core. There were a number of possibilities and explanations, but Circuit decided not to worry about it too much.

Circuit sat down on one of the bigger gears and just spun around on it as Sigmund wound up the last gear cleaner. After he did, he released the little gold robot into the spaces between the gears, and it set off to do its cleaning jobs. The red robot brushed his hands off,"

"There, that oughta do it. We'll leave the little guys alone as they do their job. Come on, there's still a time anomaly on Ardolis that we have to take care of."

"Awww, do we have to?" Circuit said in a little kid voice, lying down on the gear she was riding on.

"Yes. Don't worry, we'll be back tomorrow, so you can play again then."

"Oh...alrigh-AH!" Circuit jumped violently as a particular huge spark erupted in her torso. She put her light blue hands on her chest, "Ow..."

"C-Circuit? Are you alright? What's wrong?" Sigmund asked, sounding panicked.

"I am fine, Sigmund. Some of my body must be re-energizing late. Come on, we have to go fix that time anomaly."

"Wait, maybe you should-" Sigmund was cut off by Circuit zipping out of the room, which was a first, because usually the spirit takes her sweet time when leaving the gear room. She was heading towards the sector with Planet Ardolis in it. Sigmund shook his head and sighed, then he followed, the Chronoscepter in his hand. "Ugh...kids. Always quick on their feet...even though she isn't running."

The red robot hovered out of the room and down the path to the sector with Planet Ardolis. He was very concerned about Circuit, she had been so dodgy lately. Whenever he asked her if she was okay, she would always say that she was, and then she quickly went to their next destination. He wondered if she was like that in her previous life. Speaking of her previous life, Circuit had been watching her memories quite a bit lately. Maybe she was going through some sort of phase...a nine year old phase. She was growing up, and growing up did sometimes result in personality changes. Sigmund shook his head, he was thinking too deeply about this. Circuit was probably right, maybe she was re-energizing late. He did wake her up early this morning. Yes...everything was fine. There was not a thing that was possibly wrong-

"SIGMUND!"

Sigmund jumped as he heard Circuit scream his name, and, by the sound of it, she was horrified. The red robot went to max speed and he quickly hovered into the Ardolis building, nearly crashing into the door. When the computer granted him access, he went in and looked around for his friend.

"What?! What's going on?! Are we under attack?! Protect the Cha-"

Sigmund stopped talking when he saw Circuit. After a quick analysis, he concluded that everything was definitely not fine.

Circuit hovered about a foot off the ground, her spiritual being shaking a little. The blue particles that surrounded her dispersed from her body, then they floated upwards. The more particles that left her, the less of her body remained. She was disappearing.

Circuit looked at her hands as part of them left her and floated upwards. "Wh-What is happening to m-me? S-Sigmund?"

"Okay, uh, d-don't panic! I'll figure something out!" The red robot lied. This was a perfect time to panic, and there was no way that he could figure out something to do about what was happening. Still, it didn't hurt to be comforting.

The little spirit waited for Sigmund to come up with an answer, but he looked completely clueless. Circuit was scared, she really was. She hadn't been this scared in a long time. And the fear was about to grow even more.

"Huh...?"

Circuit looked down and saw a bright blue light engulf her feet. They were gone, and her legs were being taken down too. If her calculations were correct, she had about 6.583 seconds before she was completely gone. She looked up at Sigmund with big, innocent violet eyes.

"...Bye, Sigmund."

And, in the flash of a bright blue light, Circuit was gone.

 **Starship Phoenix**

Sasha remained in the hospital wing all day, until the nighttime hours rolled around the Phoenix. After Doctor Wyre revived the little robot, he said that the robot had fallen into a vague coma, and she could awake at any moment...or not. They had no way of knowing for sure. So, the starship captain decided to stay with the little robot for the rest of the day in case she woke up. The robot was now properly in the bed, with her torso under the covers and head on the plush pillow. A needle had been inserted into the rubber part of her arm, and IV was being pumped into her body. Her eyes was fixed, her jaw was put back in place, and she had no more dents. She was still covered in dirt and blood though. And bit of gauze had been wrapped around her now repaired right leg. Yep, the little robot was all fixed up. And now all she had to do was wake up.

Doctor Wyre walked into the wing, holding what appeared to be a new bag of IV. He was surprised when he saw Sasha still sitting there. The mechanical doctor went up to the captain.

"Um, Captain Sasha, you know that you don't have to stay here. I'll take good care of this robot, I assure you."

"Sorry, Doctor Wyre, but I'm staying here. For a few more hours at least. If she wakes up, I want to be here to see who she is. You, on the other hand, can take the night off. I'll watch over her."

"Well, I guess that I don't have a problem with that...alright. I'm gonna shut off the lights then I'm going to head to be room for a nice recharge. Would you mind replacing her IV bag with this one?" Wyre asked, handing Sasha the clear bag.

"No problem. Have a good night, doctor."

"You too, Captain."

And with that, Doctor Wyre left the hospital wing, shutting off the lights as he went through the door. It was a bit darker now, the room now had a dark blue glow to it, but Sasha could still see fine. She stood up and took a step towards the IV bag that was hung up on the silver pole. She carefully began the process of removing the old bag and replacing it with the old one. She took the old bag off the hook and placed it down on the bed, then she put up the newer one, and attempted to connect the tube leading to the robot to it. However, as she did this, the Cazar was completely unaware of the large pair of violet eyes opening up.

* * *

 _When she had disappeared from the clock, Circuit was plunged into darkness. She didn't feel like she was connected to anything, like she was just in a dark void of nothingness. This made her feel scared, she had no idea what was going on or what was happening to her._

 _After a few moments, Circuit could make out a very distinct sound. It took her a few moments before she realized that the sound was actually voices. Deciding that there was really no other option, she attempted to float towards the voices. As she did, she felt a sense of warmth climb up her body and stop at her torso, she could also feel a plush and comfortable feeling in the back of her head. All of it was so weird. As Circuit floated closer, the voices started becoming louder and clearer, until, eventually, the little robot was blinded by a flash of white light, just like the one from earlier._

...

...

...

Circuit opened her eyes a tiny bit as she regained consciousness, but it wasn't much use because when she did open her eyes, her vision was completely blurry. She could hardly make out a thing. And there were some patches of some sort of substance lying on her visual optics. The surface underneath her felt soft and comfortable, almost like it was a bed. She also felt the same warmth like she did before, like she was under some covers.

After taking a moment to process everything and for her mind to become a little less cloudy, Circuit closed her eyes and shook her head, hoping that that would help her vision problem. And it actually worked fairly well. When she opened her eyes again, she could make out the majority of the things around her. The first thing that she was a metal tiled ceiling, and, by the looks of the lighting in the room, it was nighttime. Also, she was right about being in a bed. She looked down at her torso and saw that she was covered up in plush white bedding, it was nice. But the nice feeling went away when a voice scared the metal off of her.

"Hey, you're awake-"

Circuit quickly jumped up when she saw a brown furred creature looking at her. The scared robot jumped so badly that she fell of the side of the bed and hit the floor hard, landing with a 'clank' sound. She then scooted underneath the bed and curled up into a ball as the creature tried to grab her. It took Circuit a moment to realize that she had actually felt pain, but that couldn't be possible. She was a ghost, she couldn't feel pain! Nothing could hurt a spirit-

The little purple eyed robot, who was trembling due to fear, slowly raised her hands and put them into her field of vision. Her trembling increased as she saw a pair of solid silver and black hands that were covered in dirt. Then she looked down at her torso again and saw the same solid silver color. She was covered in dirt and blood, almost like that she had just been...taken out of the ground. Circuit couldn't believe, she honestly and truly couldn't believe it. She...she was alive. She wasn't a spirit anymore, she was one hundred percent living! What was going on? How was all of this possible? And who in the world was that creature that was looking at her?

"Oh my god! Are you okay? That fall looked like it hurt."

"I...I-I...I..." Circuit stammered. She was positively horrified, not to mention completely clueless about what was happening. "I-I...I...scared."

"Aww, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I should have taken a more...slower approach. Why don't you come out from under there so we can talk?"

"B-But...I-I...I am supposed to be...to be dead!"

"Well, you were dead when we found you on Zanifar, but the ship's doctor managed to boot you up again." When Circuit said nothing, the creature continued. "Can you tell me your name?"

"...Circuit," the little robot replied quietly.

"Circuit? That's a pretty cute name. My name is Sasha. Sasha Phyronix. I'm the captain of this ship."

"Sasha...w-wait, we are on a ship?"

"Yep. We're on the Starship Phoenix, one of the most impressive Galactic Ra-...Q-Force flagships in the universe."

"...Ms. Sasha?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know where my daddy is?"

"W-Wait, daddy? Circuit, you have a father?" Sasha asked, looking very surprised. Usually robots don't have parents because they tend to come out of factories. She had to find out who Circuit's father was, because it may give her some clues to if she knew Dr. Nefarious or not. "Can you tell me what his name is?"

"Ratchet," Circuit replied innocently. "He is a Lombax. Do you know him?"

Sasha had to take a moment to let that sink in before she could answer. Ratchet... _Ratchet_. The Lombax who likes to spend his time playing video games and going on dangerous missions throughout the universe with lots of explosions and guns...had a kid. A _kid_. Since when did this happen? The questions in the Cazar's head multiplied by the second. As if the questions about Nefarious wasn't enough, now she had questions about Ratchet! What in the universe was going on? After taking a moment to collect herself, she nodded. "Yes...yes, I know him."

"Y-You do?" The little robot said, suddenly jumping out from under the bed and up to Sasha. "Can you take me to him?"

"Um..." the Cazar said, Truth was, she couldn't because of Nefarious Sweeps. So she might have to lie a little. "I might be able to. But do you think that you can answer some questions for me first? It won't take that long."

"Oh um...I guess so-" Circuit was interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling, making her place her hands on her torso. She was famished, it had been a year since she had eaten anything. Her fuel tank was one hundred percent empty, so empty that it actually hurt a little. The little robot looked up at Sasha, "So what did you want to ask?"

"...You know what? The questions can wait," Sasha said, scolding herself a little for rushing to the questions. Circuit's hunger hadn't even crossed her mind. Who knew that last time that she had eaten or drank anything? So, after seconds of debating it in her head, she smiled at the little robot. "Let's clean you up and get you something to eat."

"Okay!" The little robot replied happily.

The Cazar held out her arms, preparing to pick up Circuit, but the little robot backed up a little. Maybe she was going to bit too fast with her, she just woke up after all. However, after several hesitations, Circuit put her hands up letting Sasha know that it was okay to pick her up. So the captain picked the robot up, she could still feel her trembling a little. No doubt Circuit had been through some sort of trauma, but at least she was safe now. Also, she was beginning to have her doubts about Circuit having a connection to Dr. Nefarious. No robot this sweet could have any connection to an evil mastermind, right?

* * *

 **I wrote, like, 95% of this chapter at school because we didn't do A THING today in our classes.**

 **And now, because I got two chapters up in twenty four hours, I retire to the kitchen to fix myself a bowl of ice cream. Mmmmm...chocolate peanut butter.**

 **Also, did you guys see the new Clank gameplay for Ratchet and Clank PS4? It looks awesome!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	5. Chapter 5

Sasha took Circuit to her private captain's bathroom, where there was a large sink that was the perfect size for Circuit. The sink's sleek black coloration shined as the Cazar turned the lights on. Sasha placed the robot on the top part of the toilet, then she turned on the sink water, switching between the knobs that control hot and cold water, trying to get the perfect temperature. As she did, Circuit pulled her knees up to her chest and looked at Sasha.

"So...how do you know, Ratchet?"

"We uh...we met during a mission about nine years ago. He's one heck of a trigger happy guy, I'll tell you that much," Sasha replied, putting her hand in the stream of water. She nodded, "Perfect."

Sasha picked Circuit up and put her down in the sink, setting her right under the warm stream of water. Circuit smiled as the water hit her metal skin, it felt fantastic. It had been forever since she had had any kind of cleaning done, she had almost forgotten how nice it felt. The blood and dirt was already coming off of her, but some of it was still sticking to her. So Sasha grabbed a washcloth and began washing Circuit's face, making the little robot squirm. Then she cleaned her eyes and under her chin, trying to get all of the filth off. After that, Sasha nodded.

"Arms up," she said.

Circuit obeyed and lifted her arms, but she wasn't quite sure why Sasha wanted her to do this. Maybe she had a loose bolt of something-

"AH!" The little robot yelped as the Cazar's hands went into her underarms, attempting to get out all the dirt. When Sasha started moving her hands around, Circuit put her arms down and hugged herself, giggling her little butt off. This was one sensation that she _did not_ miss. It was a close second with pain as her least favorite feeling. "Please, M-Ms. Sasha, that tickles!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I uh...I actually didn't know that robots could be ticklish. How about I leave the rest of the washing to you?" The Cazar said, handing Circuit the washcloth. "Just tell me when you're done. And we should probably think of some way to cover you up. You are a girl after all..."

The little robot's memory suddenly jolted as she remembered something important. She took a moment to look around the bathroom for a specific something, something that she loved very much. When she was unable to locate it, she looked up at Sasha.

"Um...Ms. Sasha. Do you know where my black jacket is?"

"Your black jacket?" Sasha replied, looking a bit confused. But then she remembered what the robot was talking about, the jacket that she was wearing when they found her. The Cazar suddenly looked extremely guilty. Truth was, the jacket was so dirty and torn up, she had ordered a Ranger to throw it out. And the trash had recently been taken out. That jacket was gone. "Oh, I'm sorry, Circuit. You see, it was in such bad shape, that we...threw it out."

"Th-Threw it out?!" Circuit said, an upset expression forming on her face. "But that jacket was the first thing I ever owned! I...I made it myself..."

"M-Made it your...oh, sweetheart, I am so, so sorry." Sasha felt really bad now. There had to be something that she could do. So, she placed a hand on the little robot's head. "Go ahead and clean yourself up. I'm gonna step outside and make a call, okay?"

"Okay..." the robot replied, obviously sad.

Sasha left the bathroom, leaving Circuit all by herself. The little robot did what she was told and finished cleaning up herself, getting all the dirt and blood off. However, she spent more time feeling sad about her jacket then cleaning. She couldn't believe that it was gone. She had that hoodie since the very beginning it was the first and basically the only thing that she owned. Call her over dramatic about a piece of clothing, but that black jacket was a part of her. Circuit would never go anywhere without it. But, it looked like that she would have to start going without it for now on.

After a few minutes, when Circuit was finally done, she turned the sink off and let the water drain. However, the warmth of the water was already starting to fade from her system, and the coldness of her metal was starting to take over. She hugged herself and shivered, hoping that Sasha would be back soon to bring her a towel or something. She would go and get one herself, but she would just slide around if her wet metal feet touched the floor. And then she would end up getting hurt. Thankfully though, the door to the bathroom opened to reveal the wanted Cazar. She had a white towel in her hand, and the other hand was behind her back

"Hi, sorry I took so long. Come on, let's get you out of there and dried off," she said, setting the towel and something else that Circuit couldn't see down. She took the robot out of the sink and she knelt down as she set her down on the floor. Then Sasha grabbed the towel and placed it on the robot's head, helping her dry off. Then she let Circuit take over the drying. When she was done, she looked up at the Cazar with slightly sad eyes as she shivered a little, "Ms. Sasha, I am cold. May I suggest that we look for something that I can cover up with like you said?"

"I already took care of that," Sasha said, standing up.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I have a present for you." The Cazar grabbed the hidden thing that Circuit was unable to see earlier, and the robot's eyes brightened with interest as she finally did see it. It was a little black jacket. But it wasn't her previous one, it was a different one. "It's a Q-Force jacket. This particular kind was originally supposed to be given to Ranger's kids. But, when Captain Qwark noticed that no one on the team had kids because they're mostly robots, he just shoved all of the jackets in the cargo area. I know that it's not the jacket that you had before, but it's better than no jacket at all, right? And hey, you'll be the first one to wear this kind."

Circuit took the jacket from Sasha's hands and looked at it. It was a plain black jacket with no cape like her other one. The sleeves were also longer, but at least there was a hood.. And on the left side, the was a patch that looked like 'Q', only with a lightning bolt. And under the patch was red stitching that spelled out 'Junior Cadet'. The little robot put the jacket on, noticing that it went down about three inches from the bottom of her torso. The sleeves were fine though, reaching the bottom of her hands nicely. Sasha was right, it wasn't her old jacket, but that didn't mean that she didn't find this new one to be fantastic.

"Ms. Sasha, I do not know what to say...I love it!" Circuit said, jumping up and down a bit like a little kid.

Sasha laughed a little, "I thought you might like it. And you know, Circuit, I'm fine with you just calling me Sasha."

"Oh, um...okay...Sasha."

"Heh. So, are you hungry?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright, let's get you something to eat."

Sasha picked Circuit up and carried her back to the hospital wing, putting her back on her bed. After that, she left for a few minutes (Circuit nearly falling asleep several times as she sat by herself), and then the Cazar returned with a small bowl and a straw. She had Circuit take the bowl, setting the straw down next to her. Circuit observed the contents of the glass bowl. There was oil in it, and, according to the temperature the bowl was giving off, it was heated. There were also bits of metal shavings and screws in it. She tilted her head at her meal, then she looked up at Sasha.

"What is this?"

"That's oil soup. Didn't you ever have any of this when you were with Ratchet?"

"No. I always had chilled oil in a can."

"Of course you did..." Sasha said quietly, folding her arms. She would have thought that Ratchet would have given his daughter a better oil diet. After shaking the Lombax out of her thoughts, she looked back down at Circuit. "Anyway, I think that you'll like this. I give you the straw because what most of the Rangers like to do is drink all the soup, and then eat the bits of shavings and screws out of the bowl afterwards. Go ahead and try it."

"Okay..." Circuit said, picking up the straw and placing one end in the soup. After a quick hesitation, the robot put the other end of the straw in her mouth and drank a little bit of the oil. She could feel warmth travel down her throat and into her stomach. The robot quickly fell in love with this soup. It was so smooth, and the quality of it was outstanding. She honestly wished that she had gotten a bigger bowl of it. "I do not want to go back to canned oil ever again."

"And after I have a quick talk with your daddy, you won't be drinking from a can ever again," the Cazar said, happy that Circuit liked the soup. After Circuit finished drinking the oil and began eating the little bits that were left over, Sasha thought that it was time to start asking some questions. The little robot was clean and fed, so she didn't feel bad about starting now. She sat down in a seat next to Circuit's bed and then scooted closer . The Cazar then placed her hands on her lap, trying to look professional. "Okay, Circuit. I need to ask you some questions now. Are you up for them?"

"Yes," The little robot replied before munching on a metal shaving.

"Okay...here we go."

Sasha went through each question that she had, Circuit cooperated and answered each the best that she could. Sasha found out that Circuit was nine years old, and was a failed clone of Clank made by Doctor Nefarious. The Cazar became a lot more serious when Nefarious started coming into the picture, but she softened a little when Circuit told her that she never intended to work for the insane robot. She actually wanted him to stop the Biobliterator plan. Sasha couldn't help but grow angry when she found out that Nefarious attempted to kill her twice, and she then became shocked when she heard that Klunk, Clank's evil clone and Circuit's brother, saved her from being shot. However, it costed Klunk his life. The captain couldn't help but notice the thin line of tears forming in Circuit's eyes as she talked about Klunk, so she made them move to a different topic. The robot told her about waking up in a dump, Ratchet and Clank finding her, her attacking Ratchet, the Connection, going with Nefarious, meeting a plumber, the Hexzar virus killing her, being buried on Zanifar, everything. Her face seemed to turn red when she talked about her relationship with Clank, which the captain found to be a bit adorable. She told Sasha her life story. And Sasha was intrigued by all of it.

As the questions began wrapping up, the topic was suddenly changed to Ratchet being a parent. Sasha looked at Circuit with curious eyes.

"Circuit, do you...like Ratchet? Is he a uh...a-a good dad?" The Cazar asked.

"Of course he is a good daddy! He saved my life after all. And I love him! I am a little curious about why you are asking this," Circuit replied.

"I was just curious. Ratchet doesn't really seem like the fatherly type."

"Oh no, he is. Whenever I was sad about something, Ratchet would do everything in his power to make me smile again. And he would stay up with me if I ever had a nightmare. And he even gave me a stuffed animal so I would not be so lonely at night. Ratchet is a good daddy, Sasha, I assure you."

"Hm...I guess he's grown up over the years," Sasha said quietly. When she saw Circuit looking at her funny, like she wanted to know what she just said, the captain quickly changed the subject. "So, anyway, you said that you have a good relationship with Clank."

"Y-Yes," the robot said, blushing. "I like Clank, he is really nice. Not to mention sweet and caring..."

"Oh? Sounds to me like you have a crush."

Circuit giggled nervously, putting a hand on the back of her head, "I am not going to deny it, I do have strong feelings for him. And he had strong feelings for me...but not anymore."

"Wait, what do you mean not anymore?" Sasha asked. Circuit then went on to tell Sasha about meeting Orvus in the afterlife. Of course she had to explain who Orvus was to the Cazar, who didn't really look convinced about the head Zoni's existence, but she rolled with it anyway. But she came to be shocked and a little sad when Circuit told her that she had requested that everyone would forget about her, so they wouldn't be sad anymore. But her mood lifted a little when she was informed that there was a way to break the amnesia, and that was by looking Circuit in the eyes. "I see. No wonder Ratchet never told me any of this, it was because he didn't remember. Well. I think that it was very brave of you to do that, Circuit. And I look forward to the day that you reunite with Ratchet and Clank-"

"U-Um, Sasha?"

"Yes?"

"You said earlier that we would talk about seeing Ratchet and Clank. Can we talk about that now?"

"Oh, um...Circuit, we uh-"

"Because I want to see Ratchet and Clank right away! I want to see my love and my daddy!"

Sasha sighed, then placed her hands on Circuit's shoulders, "Listen, sweetheart, we can't go see them right away."

"Wh-what? Why?"

"Because, this is a bad time. You see, ever since the Biobliterator 2.5 discovery one year ago, the government had been making the Rangers do an intergalactic sweep of Nefarious-suspicious planets. One of the planets was Zanifar, that's why we were there when we found you. We've got at least five more planets to search until we can stop, and I need to be here and so do all of the Rangers so we can look high and low for Dr. Nefarious."

"How long until the sweep is over?"

"Well, we have about five more planets to go. So at least a week or two-"

"A week?! B-But I want to see-"

"I'm sorry, Circuit, I really am. But, don't worry, the second that the sweep is over, I'm going to take you straight to Ratchet and Clank so you can see them again. It's just going to be another seven or eight days. Do you think that you can wait that long?"

"B-But, I-I...I...yes," Circuit said, hanging her head.

Sasha put a finger on Circuit's chin and raised her head, making the robot look at her, "Hey, it's going to be okay. Just think about it like this: one week from now, you're going to be back with your daddy. Keep your head up, you'll make it."

"Okay," the robot said quietly.

"Okay. Now lie down and get a bit of sleep, alright? A nice recharge session will make you feel better."

"Oh, um...alright."

Circuit dug her way under the bed covered and crawled up to the pillow, plopping her little head on it. She sighed with relief, she had nearly forgotten how nice it is to sleep in a nice plush bed. After spending a year dematerializing in the Great Clock, the feeling of plushy comfort left her memory. But now the memory was back, and she was pretty happy to remember it. The little robot smiled and giggled a little as Sasha nuzzled her antenna gently with her hand gently.

"See you in the morning, junior cadet."

"Hehehe. Goodnight, Sasha."

Circuit watched as Sasha left the hospital wing. As her violet eyes followed the Cazar, she squeezed her pillow a little. She felt like that she was supposed to be calling Sasha something, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Deciding to put it out of her head, the robot buried her face in the plushy pillow and went out like a light.

* * *

 **Well, Circuit seems to like Sasha, but what did she want to call her? I guess we'll find out.**

 **Oh, and Happy Halloween! I got so many Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, it's not even funny...AAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (One does not deny the TARDIS peanut butter-chocolatey goodness).**

 **And, for those of you getting impatient, Ratchet and Clank should be showing up in about two chapters. So they'll appear in Chapter 7.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your candy toaster (tis a toaster made out of candy)!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	6. Chapter 6

Circuit stirred a bit as she sense morning hours coming upon the ship that she was currently in. She gave out a tiny moan as she rubbed her face a little on the plush pillow she was mostly lying on. It had been one year since she had slept as a solid being, lying on a bed instead of becoming apart of the Great Clock's energy. She had to admit, she preferred the plushy bed instead of dematerializing into energy particles.

The little robot opened her big eyes, letting loose her familiar calming purple light. However, she wasn't expecting to see two bright yellow eyes looking at her. Circuit yelped and jumped backwards as some robot person stared at her. She jumped so badly that she just about jumped off of the bed. But her fall was cut short by someone catching her. The female robot looked up to see some weird faceless robot, which only freaked her out even more.

"AHHH!"

Circuit quickly jumped back onto the bed and dived under the covers, hoping that the two creepy robots would just go away. She curled up into a ball and covered her hands with her eyes, her metallic heart pulsing rapidly. That was the second time that she had been badly startled after waking up, she hoped that it wouldn't turn into a regular thing. Thankfully, the sound of Sasha's voice calmed her down a little.

"I told you to wait until she woke up. Now she's terrified."

"Sorry, I was just so curious. It's amazing how nicely she's working after being buried in the ground. Almost like a miracle," the nearest voice said.

"And what exactly are you doing here?"

"I uh...I was curious too," a weird, extraordinarily robotic voice said, which Circuit guessed was the faceless robot.

"Honestly..." Sasha poked at the covers. "Circuit, it's alright. You can come out."

Circuit wriggled her way out of the fluffy covers, emerging right in front of Sasha. She looked over her shoulder and at the two other people. The one with yellow eyes had on a white metallic coat and a stethoscope around his neck. No doubt he was a doctor that worked in the Hospital Wing, but he should know not to scare little robots like that. And the faceless faceless was...still just a faceless robot. Circuit seriously wondered who this guy was, but her thoughts were interrupted by Sasha placing a hand on her head.

"Did you sleep well?"

'Uh-huh."

"Good...oh!" Sasha said, as the doctor looked at her with a confused look. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I spent a little time with her last night. I would have came and gotten you, but she was just so scared, I didn't want to overwhelm her. Circuit, this is Doctor Wyre. He's the one who got your heart to start again."

"Nice to meet you, Circuit," Dr. Wyre said, holding out his hand. However, Circuit didn't shake it. Instead, she looked at him with confused eyes, and she sounded serious as she spoke.

"...How did you do it?"

"Um...beg pardon?"

"How did you bring me back to life? I was not supposed to ever come back online because of the virus. So how...how did you start my heart again?"

"Virus? What virus?"

"Circuit was diagnosed with the Hexzar Virus days before her death. It's what killed her," Sasha said, keeping her hand on the slightly frightened Circuit. "I did research on it. It's a virus that attacks the robot's systems, its processor, CPU, everything. However, it's believed that once a robot is dead from the virus, it's dead for good, there's no bringing it back."

"Hmm, I have heard of that virus before," Wyre said, placing a hand on his chin. "They once experimented on a drone, bringing it back to life when the Hexzar Virus killed it. But the drone just kept dying whenever it was brought back...but they only brought it back when the drone was dead for a short time...is it...is it possible that the reason that the drone kept dying was because..."

"They...they did not give the virus enough time to die out!" Circuit blurted out. "If I am correct, when a robot dies, all viruses in its body dies with it. However, the Hexzar Virus is possibly the strongest virus out there, so no doubt it takes longer for it to disappear."

"You were dead for one year, the virus must have died out while you were buried on Zanifar. If only we knew when..." Sasha said, placing her free hand on her waist. "However, it is still a major discovery in the world of robotic medical care. We need to get word out. Can you take care of that, Wyre?"

"I can and will," the doctor replied happily.

Circuit watched the robotic doctor stroll out of the Hospital Wing, leaving just her, Sasha, and the still strange and still faceless robot. She stared at the weird robot, tilting her head at it. The faceless mechanism noticed her staring at him, and gave her a friendly wave. Circuit, who was a bit taken back by the robot's friendliness, smiled cutely and waved back.

"Hi!" She said in her high pitched, kid like voice.

"Why are you here again?" Sasha asked, folding her arms.

"Well, I just wanted to see how the little guy who's actually a girl was doing. I should probably get going now, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, you should. Go report to breakfast, and then training."

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" The soldier saluted. He walked past the bed, waving at Circuit again. "Bye, Circe!"

When he left, Circuit tilted her head. "Circe...?"

"He must have heard your name wrong. Anyway, we'll be arriving at a search planet in several hours. Is there anything that you want to see or do?" Sasha asked, pulling up a seat.

"Can I see an episode of the Behind the Hero with Ratchet and Clank?" The female robot asked excitedly.

"U-Um...sweetie, let's try and keep our focus off of Ratchet and Clank for now. Alright?"

"Oh...al-alright. Um...I would like to see more of this ship, I you do not mind."

"Well, I guess it is appropriate for me to show you around since you'll be staying here for the next week or so. Come on."

Sasha picked Circuit up, putting the robot comfortably in her arms. She was surprised that Circuit was so comfortable with her already. The robot had been completely horrified when she first wake up, she must have realized that Sasha was trying to help her, not hurt her. The Cazar had to admit it, she really liked Circuit. She seemed like a really sweet girl. And it was amazing that Ratchet raised this sweet girl, she really had to talk to him about that whenever she got to him. Speaking of which, Circuit really seemed eager to see any sign of Ratchet or Clank, she must really adore them. Then again, nearly the entire universe adored those two because of their heroic duties. But it was nice that Circuit looked up to Ratchet, it told her that Ratchet had become quite the role model of the past few years. Even though he still seemed a bit immature.

Sasha walked Circuit around the whole Starship Phoenix. First, they stopped at the cafeteria for a bit of breakfast, and Circuit enjoyed another bowl of oil soup. She said that she would never get tired of eating it, which made Sasha smile. Some of the soldiers stared at Circuit, wondering who she was, but their captain quickly put an end to all of the staring, it was making the little robot nervous.

Next, Sasha showed Circuit the bridge, where she navigated the Phoenix itself. She let Circuit sit in her captain's chair, which she found to be quite comfortable. The little robot pretended to order the crew to set course for Pokitaru for a day of fun, which was both cute and hilarious. Then the Cazar held her up to the window so she could see the vast cosmos that was outside. Circuit placed her hands on the window and her eyes lit up with amazement. She had almost forgotten how beautiful space was, and she was happy to be reminded.

After that, the two went to the Gadgetron VR training course. Of course, Circuit stayed behind and watched Sasha beat up virtual robot dummies. She used a variety of weapon. She used blasters, Razor Claws, a Plasma Whip and even a Shock Rocket, which Circuit really had to steer clear of. After a few trials, Circuit decided that she wanted to try, and she grabbed A Fusion Bomb. But, she didn't quite know what it was a first, but she got the gist of it when she accidentally hit a button on the bomb and activated it. Sasha quickly told Circuit to throw it, and she obeyed. The little robot had thrown the bomb a few feet, and it blew up, taking no robots with it. When that happened, Sasha took Circuit out of there, she didn't want the robot getting hurt.

Finally, Circuit was shown to a room that had a cage with a tree in it for some reason, and a really cool game system. Sasha allowed Circuit to play a few of the Qwark Vid-Comics that they had. She had a great time playing Issue #5, where she got to beat up Dr. Nefarious at the end. However, she was a bit freaked out when she found out the Nefarious was once an organic, she wondered why Klunk never told her that before. The psycho looked weird as an organic, like some sort of long headed Markazian, he looked awfully creepy.

When Circuit became a bit bored of the Vid-Comics, she asked Sasha if there was any other awesome things in the Phoenix. However, the Cazar told her that they had basically seen everything that would be interesting. So their tour stopped there. About three hours had gone by, and Circuit was feeling rather unenergized. It was most likely because her systems were working hard at the moment. It was taking a lot of work for her body to catch up after being shut down for one year. So, Sasha took Circuit back to the Hospital Wing and placed her in her bed so she could rest for awhile.

The Cazar smiled and placed her hand on Circuit's head. "Take it easy, alright?"

"Yes..." Circuit replied, pulling her knees up to her chest and putting her head down.

The sound of Sasha leaving the room was heard, and that left Circuit all by herself. She could feel herself drifting away, her body becoming heavier and heavier by the moment. But, while she was still in thought, she took a moment to think about Sasha. She sure was a nice person, and she really liked her. Usually, Circuit wouldn't let strangers get within ten feet of her, but there was something different about the Cazar. Her entire being was just so welcoming. And the look in her eyes when Circuit was under the bed were almost reassuring that she was trying to help. Sasha's expression alone told the robot "don't worry, I'll take care of you." It was strange how she treated Circuit, it was almost like she was her...what was that name? Sasha was like...she was like her...

"Mommy..." Circuit mumbled as she fell into a light sleep.

 _As Circuit's mind went to an inactive state, she could hear something, something faint. She attempted to increase her audio sensor's sensitivity, attempting to pick up what the sound was. After taking a moment to do that, she then listened in again. She could make out a tiny bit of the noise. Actually...it was more of a voice...a very, very familiar voice._

 _"Cir...ver...he..."_

 _The little robot listened harder, tempted to turn her sensors to full sensitivity. However, the voice was becoming clearer. And it sounded so...real. Like someone was sitting or standing right next to her bed and talking to either her or someone else. She was lightly asleep, so she would be able to pick up outdoor noises very easily. She listened in again to try to know who it was. But the guess was very easy._

 _"Circuit...Circuit, wake up...it's me, Ratchet...daddy's here...Clank's here too._ "

 _"Circuit...please wake up. I have many questions to ask...And I wish to see the beautiful light in your eyes again."_

 _"Ratchet? Clank? Th-they are here?! I must see them! I must see them at once!"_

"Ratchet! Clank! I am so happy to see-" Circuit yelled as she sprung upwards, hoping to see the Lombax and robot. However, when she opened her eyes, she found that she was alone in the Hospital Wing. After taking a moment to process everything, the little robot's face formed a sad expression. They weren't really there, she was just hearing things. She had been pulled into a light dream, which tend to feel realistic.

Circuit swung her legs over the side of the bed and hopped down onto the floor. After taking a moment to recollect herself, the little robot slowly walked over to the large window on the other side of the room. Circuit looked out the window, and into the deep void of space. There were a lot more starts than she remembered. She hadn't seen too many stars when she was at the Great Clock, the blue glow emitting from the structure made it hard to look at them.

However, looking at the stars in an empty Hospital Wing on a ship full of people that she hardly knew wasn't exactly the most comforting for Circuit. She liked it when she was looking at stars with her love Clank, who she missed terribly. And...and Ratchet...Ratchet...

A frown came onto Circuit's face when the Lombax came to mind. She wondered what Ratchet was doing at the moment. Was he sitting at home playing video games? Was he out fighting bad guys and saving the galaxy with Clank? Who knew how long it would be before she found out? And who knew how long it would be before she could see him again. Sasha had said that they had to spend a few weeks checking planets that Nefarious could be hiding out at, and she understood that that was very important. But...she couldn't help but feel a bit impatient. Circuit wanted to see Ratchet and Clank so badly, the wait was unbearable.

Circuit placed her head on the window's glass. She missed Clank. She missed Ratchet. She missed...she missed her...

"...Daddy," Circuit said quietly as tears began leaking from the corners of her eyes. But she had to quiet herself down quickly, or else she might wake up some of the Rangers. Unfortunately though, her whimpers and small wails were unstoppable. It was only a matter of time before someone came in and told her to shut up. And she was sadly prepared for that.

After a few minutes of crying to herself, the sound of the Hospital Wing door open and close was heard. After a few moments, she then heard the sound of running footsteps. A very worried Sasha was now behind her, wanting to know what the problem was. She had came to ask Circuit is she wanted lunch, but she was not prepared to see the small robot crying.

"Circuit? Circuit, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Circuit turned around and saw the Cazar looking at her. She tried her best to stop crying, but something about Sasha walking over to her and asking what the problem was only made the tears flow even heavier. Without even thinking, Circuit jumped into Sasha's arms and cried out:

"I miss my daddy!"

"You miss your..." Sasha trailed off. She knew that Circuit wanted to see Ratchet, but she never realized how much she truly missed the Lombax. And there was no doubt that she was upset about having to wait to see both him and Clank. It made her feel bad for telling Circuit to wait. After all, the robot had been through very much, and she most likely wanted nothing more than to see her friends again. She knew that she told her to wait, but seeing Circuit crying made something snap inside the Cazar. She couldn't explain it, she just had to do something for the little girl. So Sasha pulled Circuit into a hug and quieted her down. "Shhh, it's alright, Circuit. You'll see your daddy soon, I promise you...actually, you know what?"

"What?" Circuit asked between hiccups.

"Maybe I can do something. I know that the Q-Force is busy with the Nefarious Sweep, but your situation seems more important. Hang on for one second." Sasha turned her head and activated the earpiece, taking her to a communication line in the Phoenix's bridge. "This is Sasha. Do we have one of those ships Qwark provided for the Q-Force? ...Good. Get one out for me, I'm going to be gone for a few hours...where am I going? I'm going to Kerwan. Please make sure that the ship is ready within the hours. Sasha out."

Circuit looked up at Sasha with bright, tear filled eyes, "Kerwan? That's where Ratchet and Clank live!"

"I know. We'll be heading there within the hour. Come on, we have some memories to trigger," Sasha said happily, wiping away some of Circuit's tears.

"Yaay! Thank you!" The little robot said happily, hugging Sasha. "Thank you, mo-...er, Sasha!"

* * *

 **Alright, they're on their way to see Ratchet and Clank! Circuit's gonna be reunited with her love and her daddy!**

 **Next update should show up on Saturday, so look out for it! It's a heartwarming one!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	7. Chapter 7

After calming the robot down, Sasha took Circuit to the Phoenix's hangar, where a big green ship was waiting for them. Circuit looked at the ship with curiosity. It was a lot...fatter than Ratchet's ship, Aphelion. And it had the same 'Q' symbol as the one on her jacket, so it really was a Q-Force ship. Now that she thought about it, she wondered if Ratchet and Clank would be bothered by her sudden jacket change. There was a hood so Ratchet could use it as handle, but there was no cape so he couldn't hang her upside down like he used to do. She didn't think that Clank would mind though, as long as she was covered up with something and showing polite manners (unlike the other young robots of today), he would accept the change. Circuit knew that she was fine with changing jackets, but she still terribly missed her old one. She could remember when she was all by herself in her small cell, sewing the jacket together with her own two hands. It was a good memory. And Ratchet would beat the bolts out of Dr. Nefarious for calling the jacket stupid. He loved it as much as she did.

Sasha greeted the soldier who had prepared the ship for them. He assured them that it would get them to Kerwan safe and sound. Circuit was already attempting to climb up onto the ship's wing, but she was much too short in order to do so. So Sasha offered her some help and lifted her up onto the wing. The little robot maintained her balance and trotted over to the open cockpit, jumping into the driver's seat. She gripped the steering mechanism.

"I will drive!" She said in her little kid voice.

"Or not," Sasha said, picking her up and putting her into the passenger seat. The Cazar put herself into the driver's seat and started up the ship. She looked down at the soldier, "I'll be back in a few hours. You may have to search the next planet without me, but you've done this enough times to know what to do."

"See you later, captain," the soldier said, saluting.

"Bye bye!" Circuit said, waving at the robot, smiling happily when he waved back.

The cockpit closed and the hangar opened, allowing the ship to blast off into space. Circuit stood up in her seat and put her hands on the glass, watching the stars, planets, and galaxies passing by them. She never realized how much she loved being in space, it was always so pretty. But, the beauty of space was the thought in her head at the moment. What she was thinking about was the fact that she was on her way. She was on her way to finally see Ratchet and Clank again. The little robot was so excited, she could hardly contain it. Circuit sat down in her seat and hugged her knees, waiting to see the planet of Kerwan to come into view.

"When we get close, I'm going to contact Ratchet and tell him that we're coming. That way, he'll be waiting for us right off the bat," Sasha said, putting in the coordinates for Planet Kerwan.

"That sounds like a good idea," Circuit said, watching the Cazar click the buttons on the screen, extraordinarily tempted to push one herself. But she fought the urge and simply sat there quietly, imagining the look on Ratchet and Clank's faces after they look her in the eyes.

* * *

Ratchet leaned up against the counter after pouring himself a nice cup of coffee. As he brought the cup up to his mouth and took a small drink, a suspicious look came onto his face as he looked at something on the fridge. That was one thing that he did in his free time, either play video games or stare and wonder about the strange thing on the refrigerator.

About a year ago, Ratchet and Clank woke up completely confused. They felt like something was wrong, and they didn't remembered what they had been doing for those past two weeks. Hoping that getting some breakfast might make them feel better, Clank had noticed something strange that was mangeted to the fridge. Ratchet looked at it himself, and it was a hand drawn picture of him and Clank in the bombsled. After observing it, the Lombax had asked his friend is he knew where it came from, and Clank had no idea. So that picture had been a mystery in their kitchen for the past year. But it wasn't the only mystery. Ratchet had also found a machete lying on the guest room bed, and the Lombax plushie he owned was on the bed as well. Two two kept trying to think of a logical explanation for all of this, but they came up with nothing.

Over the next year, Clank had forgotten about all of the mysterious stuff and moved on. He had actually been called in to start filming Secret Agent Clank episodes again a few days ago, and that was why Ratchet was by himself. However, the Lombax himself had not forgotten about the picture and machete. He just couldn't get them off of his mind, and he kept thinking about who they belonged to. Maybe the picture came from a fan? And maybe the machete was a part of their arsenal and they had forgotten about it? He had no idea, and it would probably bug him for the rest of his life until he found out this mystery.

But he couldn't really be too unhappy with the picture, it was actually a fantastic drawing. The detail was outstanding, it almost looked like that it had been an actual picture taken with a camera. The bombsled looked awesome, Clank's pencil drawn metal shone magnificently, and the fur on Ratchet's face look incredibly realistic. Ratchet wasn't sure if he wanted to interrogate who ever drew it or thank them. At the moment, he was leaning towards thanking them.

Deciding that he had spent enough time staring at the drawing, Ratchet made his way over to the living room area and glanced out the window. The sky was starting to turn orange, meaning that the day was already coming to a close. Though it was only 5:27. It was nice that the day passed by quickly though, because that meant that he was one day closer to seeing Clank. It was always a bit lonely when the robot was gone. However, Clank was making good money while filming these Secret Agent Clank episodes, and they could always use a surplus of bolts in their bank account. So maybe it wasn't so bad that he got called back.

Ratchet yawned, but it turned into a yelp as his phone suddenly started vibrating. He set his coffee down and pulled his phone out, checking to see who it was.

 _Incoming Call: Sasha_

"Sasha...? What does she want?" Ratchet asked, clicking on the 'answer call' button. "Hello?"

"Ratchet?" Sasha's voice said.

"Yeah, it's me. Is there an issue with the Q-Force or something? Cause you never call me anymore."

"I'm handling the Q-Force just fine, thank you very much. No, there's someone who you have to meet. Can you come up onto the roof of your apartment building?"

"Uh...yeah sure. I can do that. Who do I have to meet?"

"Well, uh...I can't really say at the moment. Just hurry up and get to the roof. I'll be landing in a minute."

"Alright," Ratchet replied, hanging up. This was definitely strange. Sasha suddenly calling him and saying that he had to meet someone? This someone must be pretty important to get a Q-Force captain escort.

So, with great curiosity, Ratchet quickly exited the apartment and made his way upstairs, shoving the door to the roof open. The wind took a minute to come up and smack him in the face and make his ears and tail flap around. And he was a bit blinded when the orange sun reflected off the shiny surface of a green Q-Force ship that was circling the building. The ship then hovered over the building and came down for a landing. Ratchet attempted to look through the cockpit and see who the person he had to meet was, but the glare of the sun was making that task difficult. His ears twitched as the cockpit opened, and the first thing he saw was shining silver metal.

* * *

Circuit had become excited when she saw Ratchet standing on the roof. To think, within the next five minutes, she would be in her father's arms once more. It was like a dream come true. After dying of the Hexzar virus one year ago, she thought that the blurry, unclear sight of Ratchet was the last time that she was ever going to see. Well, it looked like that she was wrong. As they landed, Sasha placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small concerned look.

"You sure that this is going to work?"

"Yeah, Orvus told me that it would. All he has to do is look me in the eyes, and then he'll remember me."

"Alright. And try to be a little slow with Ratchet. He doesn't remember you, so just walk up to him and have him look you in the eyes. and if he gets his memories of you back, then you can jump up and hug him and whatnot."

"Oh, alright. That probably is the best thing to do. I do not want to freak him out or anything like that."

"Good. Alright, well, here goes nothing."

Sasha opened up the cockpit and hopped out of it, the fresh Metropolis wind blowing through her fur. Circuit, after being captivated by the sun set like she used to do a year ago, followed her (but she needed help off of the wing, first). Ratchet looked a bit confused when he spotted her, and his jaw even dropped a little. The little robot trotted up to him and put her hands behind her back and waited. The Lombax crouched down so he could get a better look at her. Circuit looked up at Ratchet with hopeful eyes. He had made full eye contact with her, so he should remember her at that point. Ratchet's eyes went slightly wide at the sight of the little robot, which made Circuit happy. She prepared herself as the Lombax was about to speak. But...when he did...it felt like that she had been in by a sack of bricks.

"Whoa, cool! Another Clank! And check out those purple eyes! Sasha, did you build it?" Ratchet asked looking up at the Cazar, who looked at Circuit.

Circuit felt both confused and crushed. Why did Ratchet not remember her? Orvus had told her that once someone she once knew made eye contact with her they would get all the memories of her back, and the Lombax was currently looking into her eyes. But, Ratchet still didn't know who she was. It had been one year since she had died, so will the eye contact method not work anymore? Was Ratchet's organic memory not able to recognize Circuit at that point?

Circuit shook her head "No, Ratchet, it is me! L-Look me in the eyes! You do not recognize me?"

Ratchet stared at her for a second, mostly because he had to let the fact that this Clank was a girl sink in. But then shook his head "No, I've never seen you before in my life."

"N-Never...seen me?" The little purple eyed robot felt a huge pain in her chest. This must have been what it felt like to have a broken heart. Circuit rubbed her right arm and lowered her head. "You have never seen me...y-yes..."

"...Okay, well, I'm gonna go get my phone so I can snap a picture of this...female Clank..." Ratchet said, looking at the depressed robot. He walked over to Sasha and whispered "Did I say something that offended her or is she glitching or...what's up with her?"

"I'm not sure. Just go and get your phone and I'll talk to her," Sasha replied.

Ratchet nodded, then started walking towards the door entrance "Alright. Well, I'm just gonna go inside and-"

"No! Daddy, do not go!" Circuit yelled, quickly grabbing Ratchet's hand.

The Lombax was about to yell at this little robot for suddenly grabbing him, but something happened. His agitated words were caught in his throat as the small, three fingered hand grasped his own hand. It felt like that everything around him, except for that little Clank lookalike, disappeared around him. The fur on the back of his neck stood up on end, and his eyes were wide. He...he knew this robot...b-but...who-

 _"Uh, hi there, you need help there?" Ratchet asked in a somewhat calm voice. The figure jumped, which, conveniently, caused the jacket fit finally fit on the right way. And the next thing that Ratchet saw felt like a dream. Like it couldn't be happened, like it literally could not be happening. Two bright purple circles met his eyes. And those two eyes belonged to a robot. A robot who looked exactly like Clank._

 _"We do all make mistakes...even if they are somewhat ridiculous."_

 _The little robot tilted her head to the side, "You confuse me."_

 _"STAY AWAY!" She grasped her gun as hard as could, until the most unexpected thing happened. Upon her tight, frightened grip, the gun began to glow. It began to glow white with a purple tint. Until the gun's form began to grow. It kept growing until it was about twice its size. The glow faded away, only to reveal a beautiful gold surface. Ratchet and Talwyn were staring at the whole scene, paralyzed by both amazement and confusion._

 _"I could never hate you, daddy!"_

 _"NO! Do not donate me! I do not want to be donated! I like it here with you!"_

 _The robot raised her machete, and in one quick swipe, she made a clean cut into Ratchet's torso. A horizontal gash in his side started to bleed and stain his clothes, and the Lombax yelled in pain as he placed a hand on his wound._

 _"But...but I did bad things, Ratchet! I did really bad things! Why would you still want me if I am evil?!"_

 _"I...I want to...I want to stay with you forever, daddy!"_

 _"Those the universe's jokes may seem confusing, but when you finally get it, you will always feel better."_

 _"Ratchet and Clank...intergalactic heroes...keep helping people. It is what you do best...I know that."_

Everything came rushing in like a tsunami. This robot...she...sh-she had a name. A name that Ratchet himself had given her. What...what was it?

 _"When I was fixing you, you had so many broken circuit boards. Seriously, I spent almost an hour fixing them. So, how about..."_

"Circuit..." Ratchet muttered quietly, but Circuit picked it up. She gave the Lombax a curious look, but then she realized something. Neither her nor Sasha had actually told Ratchet what her name was. He had spoken her name without being told what it was. And that could only mean that...

Circuit looked up at Ratchet, "Daddy...?"

"Circuit... _CIRCUIT!_ " Ratchet jumped back, falling over and landing on his bottom. He remembered everything, all or it. Circuit, the little Nefarious made Clank lookalike from the landfill. She was a failed clone of Clank, and her brother was Klunk, who died from a blaster shot while protecting Circuit. He remembered finding Circuit in the alleyway, being kidnapped on Lumos, Circuit unwillingly attacking him, searching Metropolis, beating the bolts out of Nefarious, he remembered all of it. But...why did he forget about Circuit in the first place? And how was she alive? What in the world was going on here?"

"Ratchet, are you okay? You fell down, and it looked rather painful," Circuit said, looking concerned.

Ratchet was gasping for air, "How...how...y-y-you're alive! How...wh-when..."

"It is okay, I can explain everything. You see, Sasha found me on Zanifar, where you buried me. After that, she took me to a really cool ship where a doctor came and restarted my heart-!"

Circuit was interrupted by Ratchet lunging forward and grabbing her. The Lombax wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. It was her...Circuit was alive. His little girl was alive. It was a miracle, it was a true miracle. Circuit hugged the Lombax, her head resting on his chest. She could both hear and feel his heart beating at a perfect rhythm. She looked up at Ratchet.

"Ratchet...I...I m-mi-missed you-"

"Shhh, Circuit. It's alright. I'm here...daddy's here." Ratchet looked up at Sasha. "Thank you, Sasha. Thank you for finding her."

"Y-Yeah. No uh...no problem," Sasha said, completely amazed by how fatherly Ratchet was being. Maybe Circuit was right, maybe the Lombax really was a good daddy after all.

* * *

 **Ratchet is a daddy once again! And damn do I have the feels right now from writing this! And it's because of these feels that I got this up a day early!**

 **And, before you complain, I have a thing planned with the whole Secret Agent Clank thing. So don't be too upset that Clank isn't there to see Circuit, he will come soon.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness , pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	8. Chapter 8

"So that's what happened..." Ratchet said quietly as he sat down next to Sasha, Circuit in his lap. Circuit and Sasha had just explained the whole situation to him. Finding Circuit on Zanifar, restarting her heart, discovering that the Hexzar Virus had died out. He looked a bit unconvinced when Circuit had told him that she met Orvus, but he couldn't believe that she had been at the Great Clock for the past year. He looked down at her, "You know, you didn't have to tell Orvus to erase everyone's memories. We could've came and visit you at the Great Clock."

Circuit shook her head, "That would not have worked. You see, Orvus put me on a spiritual plane, but he only had enough power to make it so only Sigmund could see me. The Zoni could sense me, but they could not actually see me. So, even if Orvus didn't erase your memories, you would have not been able to see or hear me at all."

"Well, yeah but...I mean, just knowing the fact that you were there would have made me happy."

"Yes, but...another reason that I had your memories erased was because you were so sad-"

"Of course I was sad! You died!"

"And that is why I did it. I did not like seeing you and Clank mourning over my death, and I did not know how long you would have been sad for. So I thought that if I was removed to your memories, you would be happy again. And it worked! Without knowing me, you got to continue being the upbeat hero, going on adventures and stuff like that! You got to do what made you happy-"

Ratchet put his hand on Circuit's face, interrupting her, "Circuit, don't you remember the conversation we had when we were outside at Al's? One of the things that most makes me happy is you. And the last thing that I wanted to do was forget you. Even though you had died, I was happy knowing that I got to spend time with you and know you and what are you doing?"

Both Ratchet and Sasha looked at Circuit with a weird look as the robot took her face out of the Lombax's hand and began removing his glove. When she took it off completely, she placed the hand back on her face. She smiled and then giggled.

"You are still soft."

"We're reunited after one year of separation and the first thing you do is check is to see if my fur is still soft? Yep, you're Circuit alright," Ratchet said, placing his ungloved hand on top of Circuit's head.

Sasha smiled. She knew that taking Circuit to Ratchet was the right thing to do, but it was sad that it took Circuit crying for her daddy in order to see that. She would love to sit there on the roof and watch the two more, but she really had to get going. So the Cazar stood up and brushed herself off. "Well, Ratchet. It looks like that you have everything under control here. I'm going to head back to the Phoenix now."

"Wh-What? No! Do not go Sasha!" Circuit said, jumping out of Ratchet's arms and latching onto Sasha's leg.

Sasha got down on her knees and removed the little robot from her, "I'm sorry, Circuit, but I have to go. The team needs me."

"I am sure that they are doing fine on their own! Please do not go yet! Wait until morning! Just stay until morning, then you can go! Please, mommy-" Circuit's eyes went wide as she covered her mouth with both hands. She accidentally let herself go overboard. This was bad, she said too much. "Sasha, I uh...u-um..."

Sasha grabbed both of Circuit's hands and gave her a happy look, "Alright, sweetheart, I'll stay until morning. Besides, staying longer means that I can keep an eye on your dad, make sure that he treats you right."

"Hey, I treat her fine!" Ratchet said folding his arms.

"It is true, he does," Circuit replied, looking between the Cazar and Lombax. Then she put her hands behind her back and shuffled her feet cutely. "Oh, and uh...I-I am sorry, Sasha. Me calling you what I did must have made you feel uncomfortable..."

"Aw, it's okay. I'm fine with you calling me your mom. I actually had a tiny feeling that it would happen eventually."

"Wait, she's calling you mommy already? How long have you had her for?" Ratchet asked.

"About two days."

"Two days?! It took ya two weeks to start calling me daddy," the Lombax said, placing his hands on his waist and looking at Circuit.

"Ehhh...heh-heh," Circuit placed a hand on the back of her head and giggled nervously. Then she walked up hugged Ratchet, and spoke in her cutest little kid voice. "I love my daddy!"

"...I'm trying to be mad at you, but that was way too cute for me to ignore. How dare you use your cuteness against me!"

The female robot giggled as Ratchet nuzzled her antennae with his ungloved hand. It felt amazing to be with the Lombax again. Everything was exactly the same with him, it was like that she had never died at all, like the time they had spent separated didn't happen at all. However, as much as she loved being with her father, she urged to see Clank. But, unfortunately, Clank was away at Holostar Studios filming his Secret Agent series, and he wouldn't be back for awhile. But that was alright, Circuit still had Ratchet to be with. So she could wait it out with him.

After a few moments, Circuit let out a great big yawn. She was getting pretty tired. Sasha noticed how tired she looked and a strange expression formed on her face, "You've been so tired lately, it's a little concerning."

"I am sorry. It is just that my systems are working their hardest right now, so I get tired out more easily now."

"Hm, maybe we should take you to see Al. I'm sure that your software could use a nice update," Ratchet said, poking Circuit on the head.

A-Al? Oh um...I do not think that is necessary. I will be fine," Circuit said, remembering the freaky cyborg guy who ran the Robo Shack.

"Honestly, Circuit. You should be getting used to people by now. I know that you're shy, but it's time for you to learn how to trust people. You're eight years old, and you're-"

"Nine."

"What?"

"I am nine years old. I turned nine in November."

"You're nine years old? Man, at this rate, you won't be my little girl anymore!"

"W-Well, age does not matter for robots! So I can always be your little girl!" Circuit said, standing up and looking up at Ratchet with an upset face.

Ratchet couldn't help but laugh about how defensive Circuit was getting about her age. It was nice seeing the robot act like the little free spirited girl that she was. Before she had died, Circuit was depressed and she had even matured a whole lot, taking responsibility for the Biobliterator and her brother. But, the hard part about her changed personality was during her final moments, when she was lying on the ground with Ratchet and Clank. She thought that her dying was no big deal, and that the two shouldn't have been sad about it. Circuit had seen herself as an insignificant piece of metal that could be replaced. But she was so much more. To Ratchet and Clank, Circuit was the most sweetest, creative and amazing robot there was. And Ratchet was happy to have her back in his life again. It was like a forgotten dream come true.

The Lombax grabbed Circuit and he stood up, the little robot putting her head on his chest. She could hear the heartbeat again. Ratchet looked down at Sasha, "Come on, let's go inside, it's starting to get dark. Plus, I think that it's getting close to bedtime for someone."

"I do not know what you are talking about. I am not..." Circuit paused to yawn. "...not tired."

"Uh-huh, sure. Yeah, I think that I'll have Al fix you up. I can't have you being tired all of the time."

The three went inside, leaving the incoming cold night behind them. Ratchet had Circuit go to bed, even though she said that she would rather stay awake with him. But he told her that she had to let her systems rest, so she reluctantly agreed and went to her old bedroom. After that, Ratchet dumped out his now old coffee and decided to wash some dishes and Sasha wanted to see if there was any alerting intergalactic news that she needed to hear, so she turned on the news channel. There was only one story was was fairly alerting, and that was a story about several robot suddenly disappearing throughout the universe. Apparently, ever since last Thursday, jerky and tough robots and commandos have been vanishing across the universe.

 _"So far, the number of missing robots is twenty four. We have yet to pinpoint why these disappearances have been happening, and we hope to find out more as time goes on. And now, the weather..."_

"Hey, that sounds like a pretty big deal. Shouldn't the Q-Force be doing something about it?" Ratchet asked, drying a blue tinted drinking glass.

"Well, we have been considering taking the problem into our own hands, but the Galactic Police prefers that we stay on the Nefarious search. I swear, if it wasn't for that stupid Biobliterator 2.5, I wouldn't have to conduct these ridiculous searches for Nefarious-"

"Sasha, shhh! Circuit might hear you. She doesn't need to be reminded about the whole Biobliterator 2.5 incident."

"Oh, sorry...so anyway," the Cazar turned around on the couch and looked at Ratchet. "Tell me 'daddy', what do you plan on doing now that you have Circuit back?"

"Hm, I don't really know. I guess that I'll just carry on with my life, but Circuit will be with me this time."

"Uh-huh, and, before Circuit died, were you ever going to tell me that you had a kid or...?"

"Personally, I didn't think that you would have been interested. Also, it doesn't appear that Circuit is just my kid anymore. She seems to have recognized you as her parent too."

"Yeah, it seems so...I guess that we'll have to do something about all of this."

"What do you mean?" Ratchet asked, exiting the kitchen and into the living room area. He took a seat next to Sasha and gave her a confused look.

"Well, we've had our...disagreements in the past. But it looks like we'll have to do a bit of cooperating for the sake of Circuit."

"I'm still not following."

"What I mean is that your Circuit's father, and I am now apparently Circuit's mother. And ever since we broke up, I know that we haven't been on the greatest terms, and that's why we don't see each other anymore. So, for the sake of Circuit, we need to be on better terms with each other, but not...get together again."

"Okay, I get what you're saying. So you want us to be parents, but you don't want us to date again. Yeah, that seems reasonable. Anyhow, welcome to parenthood, Sasha," Ratchet said, folding his arms behind his head and lying back.

"I'm still having a hard time comprehending the fact that you're a father. With all the carefree gun handling, dangerous adventures, ship building and constant explosion making, you seem like the very last person in the universe who would have a sweet little-"

"Daddy?" Circuit's sudden voice said as she appeared behind the couch. She looked tired but awake at the same time.

Ratchet, who was recovering from a mini heart attack, looked over the back of the couch with Sasha he tilted his head a little. "Yeah?"

"I cannot seem to get to sleep. Will...will you read me a bedtime story, please? I-If you want to, of course."

Sasha looked at Ratchet with curiosity. He read her bedtime stories too? The Lombax smiled and gave a small nod of his head, "Of course I will. I'll be back a few minutes, Sasha."

Sasha watched Ratchet get up off the couch and pick Circuit up, the little robot looking over his shoulder and at her. The little robot waved at her, and she waved back, the amazed look was still on her face. The two entered Circuit's bedroom, leaving the Cazar all by herself. Of course...of course he would read her a story. Ratchet... _Ratchet_...was reading his kid...his _kid_...a bedtime story. This whole thing was completely unbelievable. Three days ago, Sasha thought of Ratchet as a carefree child who recklessly tried to save the universe by blowing a bunch of things up. But, it looked like that she had been wrong for a very long time. Ratchet appeared to have outgrown his childlike personality, and he matured greatly. So much so that he had taken up being a father to an orphan robot who had been tormented by evil. Maybe it was about time to give the Lombax another chance...

The Cazar shook her head. No, she was not going to go for him again. They tried being together, and it didn't work. Fatherly or not, there was no way that she was ever going to get back together with that Lombax-

"Hehehehe! What happened then?"

Sasha's ears twitched as she picked up Circuit's voice. She got up off the couch and crept over to the bedroom entrance and slowly opened the door, curious about what was going on. She saw Ratchet sitting on Circuit's bed, Circuit snuggled up to his side.

"Well, Clank entered the other dimension and went to save Vendra while I stayed and fought Mr. Eye. After a few shots from Mr. Zurkon and couple of shots from my blaster, I-"

"You whipped out your RYNO and took Mr. Eye down with one last shot!" Circuit said, looking excited.

Ratchet gave her a strange look "Y-Yeah, that's what I did...how-how did you know that?"

"Oh! Um...lucky guess?" The robot lied. Truth was, she had watched the entire Mr. Eye fight when she was at the Great Clock.

"Okay...well, Neftin and Vendra were finally reunited, and they turned themselves into the authorities. After that happened, everything went back to its peaceful state. And there hasn't been a sign of a villain since then. And you're probably asleep now, aren't you?" Ratchet looked down at Circuit, and sure enough, she had fallen asleep. It was amazing how quickly she could, but peaceful and happy endings to stories always put her out like a light. "Yep...works every time."

Ratchet carefully put Circuit under the covers and left her to dream. He turned around and was scared to death by Sasha's presence. He leaned on the wall and placed a hand on his chest. He gasped quietly, "Don't do that! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," Sasha whispered. She looked at Circuit, "Wow, looks like you're story really worked."

"Yeah, nothing soothes her more than a happy ending. What are you doing in here, anyway?"

"I just wanted to hear the story that would be putting Circuit to sleep. I'm surprised that she fell asleep to such an exciting story."

"I know, it's weird. But all that matters is that she's finally resting. Peacefully dreaming about whatever her imagination has to throw at-" Ratchet's ears twitched as he heard a distressful noise come from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Circuit uncomfortably shifting several times in her bed and making sad whining noises. Something was wrong. "Or maybe she's not so peaceful right now."

"I think something's wrong with her. I'm going to wake her up," Sasha said, bending down and preparing to shake Circuit's shoulder.

"Wait!" Ratchet grabbed Sasha's shoulders and pulled her back, which made her a bit mad. The Lombax looked down at Circuit, studying her squirming. She looked like that she was attempting to grab something. And when she grabbed air, she gave a sad whine. Ratchet looked deep into the memories that he had just recovered. What was wrong with her? What was she missing? What was the one thing that she needed while sleeping? Think, Lombax, think...! Ratchet's eyes went wide as he remembered. He looked at Sasha, "I know what's wrong. Wait here for a second."

"Wait, what? What's wrong with-"

Ratchet rushed out of the room, the sound of the other bedroom's door opening was heard. After a few moments, the sound of the door closing was heard, and the Lombax came back into Circuit's room. In his hand, he held a familiar Lombax plushie, or as Circuit would call it, 'Little Ratchey'. He walked over to the bed and bent down, waiting for Circuit to open her arms up. When she did, he quickly slipped the stuffed animal into her arms. Circuit noticed the plushie immediately and she smiled as she began snuggling it. Ratchet smiled, and he glanced at Sasha, who looked a bit confused.

"That's her favorite toy. I gave it to her when I found out that she was having nightmares. Get this, she named it 'Little Ratchey'. Is that not freaking adorable?"

"It's pretty adorable alright," Sasha replied. After a few moments, the Cazar looked at Ratchet. "...Listen, Ratchet. I'm leaving tomorrow, but I don't want Circuit to think that I'm abandoning her or anything. So, if she ever says that she really wants to see me, just fly her up to the Phoenix and you two can stay there for a few days. You don't have to call or anything. Besides, I like surprises sometimes."

"That sounds like a nice deal. I'll be sure to bring her whenever she wants to come up."

"Thanks, Ratchet."

Circuit twitched a little in her sleep. She buried half of her face into her pillow and she hugged Little Ratchey. "Daddy...mommy..."

* * *

 **Looks like that Circuit officially has a daddy AND a mommy! But Sasha will have to work with Ratchet in order to keep the family together.**

 **And, in case some of you don't know, Insomniac confirmed a relationship between Ratchet and Sasha after the events of Up Your Arsenal. But they apparently broke up and stopped talking to each other (until the comic book series. I don't think that that series is canon though). So that's why Sasha is so uptight about being a parent with Ratchet, because of their past.**

 **Oh, and Clank will either show up next chapter or the chapter after that. He'll probably show up next chapter though.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	9. Chapter 9

Ratchet woke up the next morning as the sun rose up into the sky. He stretched, nearly making his Secret Agent Clank plush fall off of the bed (having it when Clank was gone made him feel better). The Lombax got up and got dressed, then made his way out into the living room, where Sasha was up and watching the news. He looked around and asked where Circuit was, and the Cazar told him that she was still in bed. So, after having a quick cup of coffee, Ratchet made his way to Circuit's bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Circuit, wake up. I know that sleeping is awesome, but we all have to wake up at some point...Circuit?"

Ratchet opened the door and entered the bedroom. He saw the Circuit lying down on her bed, her face half buried in the pillow and Little Ratchey was in her arms. The Lombax smiled, it had been a long time since he had seen this. His little robot lying peacefully on the bed, constantly snuggling her stuffed animal, and her antennae shining ever so brightly...wait a minute...she wasn't asleep! This whole scene was starting to look very familiar to Ratchet. Circuit pretending to be asleep, but her antennae gave it away...yep, he had definitely seen this before. But how to create a solution for this fake sleeper...

The Lombax smiled a little mischievously as he walked quietly walked over to Circuit. He looked down at her, and noticed that she had kicked the blank off of her feet during some point last night. They were completely exposed. Perfect.

Ratchet put his fists on his waist. "Hmm, now this looks familiar. Yeah, you were refusing to get out of bed, and then I did something that made you tell me that you would get up. But what was that something? Hmmm...I think that it went something like this."

Circuit tensed up and she squeezed Little Ratchey tightly as Ratchet dragged his finger up and down her little metal foot. Oh no, no not this! She was hoping that this memory of her wouldn't come back to him, but it looked like that that memory was well and alive in his head. And there was nothing she could do about. So, trying her best not to be heard, Circuit buried her mouth into her pillow and giggled. But that little movement didn't escape Ratchet's vision and the giggles did not escape his hearing. He perked up as he pretended to just now get the memory back.

"Oh yeah, I remember! I used to do this!"

'Oh-no' thought Circuit as she felt Ratchet grab her ankle. She knew what was going to happen next, her awakening was going the way of waking up at Apogee Space Station. Sure enough, Circuit erupted into laughter as Ratchet full on tickled her foot. Of course she immediately attempted to make the Lombax stop. She hated being tickled, it was such a strange feeling. And she wasn't exactly a fan of the involuntary laughter. So she tried to free her ankle by grabbing her leg and pulling. But her laughter rendered her weak.

"L-Let me g-g-go! D-Daddy!"

"Are you gonna get up?"

"Yes! Yes I will g-get up! I pr-pr-promise!"

"Alright, I'll stop now." Ratchet let go of Circuit, leaving the robot to theoretically gasp for breath. After getting out some trapped giggles, the robot was finally at ease. The Lombax poked her on the head and gave her a small smile. "Thought I forgot that you were ticklish, huh?"

"Well...I had my hopes," Circuit replied, sitting up.

Ratchet laughed a little bit, then he held his arms out. The little robot happily jumped into his arms and hugged his torso. He lifted her up and looked down at her, "Come on. Sasha has to leave soon, and I'm sure that you want to spend as much time as you can with her."

"Uh-huh. Can I see her right now?"

"Yeah, I'll take ya to her."

Ratchet took Circuit out of the room and into the living room, where Sasha was standing and finishing her cup of coffee. She was keeping her eyes on the news, making sure that nothing too serious was going on in the universe. But her attention was turned away from the news report as she saw Circuit in Ratchet's arms. She smiled and placed her coffee on the table.

"Well, there she is."

"Mommy!" Circuit said, jumping out of Ratchet's arms and into the Cazar's.

"Hey, sweetheart. Did you sleep fine?"

"Yes."

"That's good. And uh...what were you laughing about earlier?"

"Hmph, Ratchet tickled me awake..." Circuit said looking at the Lombax, who innocently smiled and shrugged.

"Aww, Ratchet. That was wasn't very nice," Sasha said, actually sounding a bit angry. "You should have just let her sleep."

"Oh she was faking being asleep! I could tell, her antennae was shining," Ratchet said pointing to Circuit's antennae.

"Whatever. If she wants to be in bed, then let her be in bed. Don't forget about the problem with her systems."

"As we speak, they are running at full capacity," Circuit added, tapping on her head.

Sasha was about to say something, but a knock at the door interrupted her. Ratchet looked confused as he heard it too. Who would be at the door this early in the morning? After looking at Sasha for a few moments, the Lombax walked over to the front of the apartment and opened the door. A robotic doctor stood in the doorway, and Circuit and Sasha recognized him immediately.

"Doctor Wyre? What are you doing here?" Sasha asked, putting Circuit down on the couch.

"I'm sorry to intrude on your morning, but I recently remembered something that I had forgotten to do. May I see that little robot girl again, Circuit was it?"

"What for?" Ratchet asked, folding his arms.

"Hm, you must be Circuit's father. Don't worry, I simply need a blood sample from her. She had been in the ground for a long time, I need to see her blood to make sure that it isn't infected with anything."

Ratchet didn't look very convinced, but Sasha shoved him aside, "Ratchet, don't worry, Doctor Wyre's been working for the Phoenix for four years. He's an honest guy, trust me."

The Lombax growled a little, then he unfolded his arms, "Fine, you can get the blood sample. Circuit?"

"Yes?" The little robot asked, appearing on the back of the couch.

"Come here, this doctor needs a blood sample from you."

"Oh...okay!"

Circuit climbed down off of the couch and trotted over to Ratchet, who picked her up and placed her on the kitchen table. Doctor Wyre put a thin needle in the rubber part of her arm and let the incoming blood flow into a small containment tube. The doctor looked at the blood strangely as it filled up the tube. Something was...off about this blood. It appeared to...shimmer.

"Uh, young lady, what's your blood type?"

"I do not have a blood type."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, you see, when I was being built, Doctor Nefarious created his own blood and-"

Ratchet covered Circuit's mouth, preventing her from releasing any more information. "Uhh, she's AB positive. Her brother spooked her into thinking that she has homemade blood, But yeah...she's uh...sh-she's AB positive."

"Wait a minute? Brother? You have a sibling?"

"Well...I uh...I had a brother..." Circuit said quietly, her eyes narrowing into a sad position.

"I see. And what happened to this brother-oof!"

Ratchet grabbed Doctor Wyre and pulled him away from Circuit. He looked the robot dead in the yellow eyes, "Listen, Wyre, don't ask Circuit about her brother. And especially don't ask about how he died. If you make Circuit cry, _I'll_ make _you_ cry. Got it?"

"U-Uhh...y-yes, sir."

The Lombax let the doctor go and he turned around to face Circuit. He removed the needle from her arms and sealed the little tube of blood, then he gave it to Doctor Wyre. "I think that you have enough of her blood. Tell me if you find anything unusual in there."

"Yes, I'll be sure to do that." Wyre turned to Sasha, "Captain, we have the reports for Planet Terachnos waiting for you back at the Phoenix. I suggest that you have a look at them and send the results to the Galactic Government soon."

"Oh, well...how about I leave with you? I was getting ready to leave, anyway."

"Sounds good, I'll be waiting in my ship."

Doctor Wyre left the apartment, Ratchet glaring at him a little bit as he walked out the door. Sasha let out a small sigh and then she turned around to look at Circuit, who was looking at her with sad eyes. She spoke quietly.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid I do," the Cazar replied. Circuit stood up, a little bit of blood dripping off of her arm, and she hugged Sasha. She lifted her head to the robot was looking at her. "Hey, it's okay. You'll see me again. If you ever find yourself wanting to see me, or if you get tired of your dad's craziness-"

"Hey!" Ratchet said, placing his hands on his waist.

"Just tell Ratchet that you want to come to the Phoenix, and he'll bring you. Okay?"

"Okay," Circuit replied. She placed her head on Sasha's chest, hearing the Cazar's heartbeat. It was just like Ratchet's. "Bye, mommy..."

"I'll see you later, sweetheart."

Sasha gave Circuit to Ratchet, and then she walked over to the door. After taking one last glance at the Lombax and robot, she left the apartment. Circuit tilted her head, then she looked up at Ratchet, who actually looked a bit sad.

"Her heartbeat sounds just like yours."

"Yeah..."

"...Are you two seeing each other?"

Ratchet's eyes went wide as his ears lowered a little bit. He put on a nervous and uncomfortable smile. "Okay! We're done here! Let's have something to eat!"

Ratchet put Circuit down on the floor as he walked over to the refrigerator. He handed the little robot a can of oil while he pulled out some food of his own. Circuit took a seat at the table while Ratchet made something at the counter. She watched with interest as her father looked excited about what he was making. Several minutes later, the Lombax brought over a small plate with two sandwiches on them. And he also brought a plate of what appeared to be celery. Circuit looked at them with curiosity, but then she found out that she couldn't stop staring at them. There was just something captivating about that food. She watched as the Lombax picked up the bigger sandwich and took a bite out of it. Ratchet noticed Circuit staring at him (It was a bit hard not to notice the big purple circles constantly looking at him). But, something was off. Circuit had a curious look on her face, and her head was slightly tilted. He also noticed that she hadn't touched her oil. What was wrong with her?

"Uh...whatcha lookin' at, Circuit?"

"What is that in your hand?" Circuit asked, pointing to the food item in the Lombax's left hand.

Ratchet glanced at his sandwich, then returned his gaze to the little robot, "You mean this sandwich? It's just smoked salmon with lettuce and some with a plate of celery. I made it myself. Why?"

Circuit placed a digit on her chin and thought to herself for a moment. Then she smiled and pointed at Ratchet, "I want to try what you are eating!"

"Wh-What?!" The Lombax stuttered, caught completely off guard. This was possibly the most oddest request he has ever gotten from a robot. "Circuit, you don't understand, robots tend not to like organic food."

"Then I say that I am not like other robots. You do call me weird sometimes, and if I am correct, weird means not normal."

"And one more thing. You see, I put this spicy sauce on the salmon before I cook it. And you don't seem like a robot who would eat spicy things."

"How would you know that if you do not let me try it?"

The robot had him there. He hated it when robots made more sense than him. So the Lombax gave in and shrugged, "Alright, if you think that you can stomach spicy organic food, then I won't deny you the right to try it. Here, have this one."

Ratchet picked up the second sandwich that he had made. It was smaller, so it was a pretty good size for Circuit. The little robot took the food into her hands and she brought it up to her face. She examined it for a minute, then she opened her mouth and took possibly the cutest bite that Ratchet had ever seen. Since Circuit had no teeth, the food went right down her throat, but she still got a huge dose of the sandwich's flavor. She could feel her face becoming warmer as spiciness of the salmon hit her. She noticed Ratchet looking at her with both concern and curiosity. She smiled, trying not to let the Lombax see her twitching eye.

"It is good."

"Wow, you both physically and mentally have an iron stomach."

"Uh-huh," Circuit said, her voice breaking a little as the heat continued to rise in her mouth. Some of it had even traveled down her throat.

"If it gets a bit too hot for you, just take a bite of some of those green things on this plate," Ratchet said, pointing at the celery sitting in front of him. Circuit quickly grabbed and took a bite of the celery, and felt instant relief. The vegetable was cold and somewhat watery, it was amazing. The Lombax placed his cheek on his fist. "That celery's been infused with mineral water. Costs a bunch of bolts at the store, but I can't turn the darn veggie down."

Circuit was hardly listening, she was too busy taking several several more bites out of the sandwich. The heat wasn't so bad after the first bite, but she still kept eating the celery that was provided. She didn't know what Ratchet was talking about when he said that robots don't like organic food. The organic sandwich she was eating was great.

"I can't believe that you like organic food. Sasha and Clank are gonna freak!" The little robot stopped eating as the name of the male robot was spoken. After freezing for a few moments, Circuit put her sandwich down and placed her hands on the table. Ratchet was expecting her to say something, but when she didn't, he asked "What's wrong, Circuit?"

"...Ratchet, I must be honest with you. I...I do not think that I will be able to wait another day to see him again. I must...I must see Clank immediately!" Circuit said, looking up at Ratchet with determined eyes.

"W-Well, I don't know about that. Clank's busy with his TV show. I don't think that-"

"You do not think that Clank will care more about me than his show?" The robot asked innocently, hanging her head a little. "I am sorry, Ratchet. I know that I am asking a lot by wanting to go to Holostar Studios. But knowing that Clank is completely unaware of my existence is tearing me up on the inside. I at least want to go long enough to jog his memory. Please, Ratchet, I am begging you. Take me to see Clank."

Ratchet had to ponder about this for a second. Even though it was a terrible idea to interrupt the filming of Secret Agent Clank, the Lombax wanted nothing more than for Circuit and Clank to be together again. He knew that Circuit loved Clank, and the fact that Clank didn't even remember her was enough to make him sad. His daughter's situation, to him, was more important than filming a TV series. So, Ratchet slammed his hands down on the table (which startled Circuit) and stood up, "Zip up your jacket, Circuit. We're going to Holostar Studios."

"Yay!"

The two quickly ate the rest of their sandwiches and started heading towards the garage, but they rushed back and soothed the burning in their mouths by eating the celery. After that, they went to the garage and hopped into Aphelion, and then entered in the coordinates to Holostar Studios. Circuit sat comfortably in the passenger's seat. She was on her way to finally see Clank, she was finally on her way to reunite with the robot that she loved.

* * *

 **Okay, so, I can explain. You see, on Tuesdays, I tend to write shorter fanfiction chapters because I want to get it up before I go to Drumline. However, I just recently found out that I don't have Drumline tonight, but I already had this chapter constructed in a way in which Clank doesn't actually appear, because the Clank chapter is going to be a longer one. So, because of this, I will ATTEMPT to post the next chapter TONIGHT. No promises, but I have, like, seven hours to write it. So I'll see what I can do. If I don't get the Clank chapter up by tonight, I'll post it either tomorrow or Thursday.**

 **And I can't help but notice that some of you are suspicious of Doctor Wyre. But I just want to point something out to y'all. There's a difference between DOCTOR Wyre and DOCTOR Nefarious. One is an actual medical doctor and the other is totally insane and murderous. So I think that y'all are looking at Wyre the wrong way. Besides, the main antagonist hasn't been introduced yet. I won't tell you when he's going to be introduced because of spoilers.**

 **And Circuit likes Ratchet's sandwiches, and that part was so much fun to write.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster.**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Holostar Studios**

Circuit looked curious as they landed outside the Secret Agent Clank studio. She had never been to a movie studio before. Heck, she had hardly been to another planet before. Ratchet guessed that everyone was inside filming a scene, so he told Circuit that she needed to be quiet. After agreeing, the robot jumped out of the ship and walked alongside Ratchet as they entered the studio. They walked through a little set where they had it snowing, but when Circuit accidentally stepped on a large button that was on the floor, the snow turned into rain. Circuit put her hood up and ran with Ratchet out of the room. They then entered a very large set that appeared to resemble a city. The whole placed was trashed, and what appeared to be giant robot ninjas were lying mangled on the ground. Ratchet explained to Circuit that Clank did all of this, which made the robot go wide eyed. But he assured her that he didn't actual harm any real people, and that the ninjas were just machines thrown together for the show. Still, there was so much destruction. It was almost like Clank grew to the size of a building and just started punching and shooting things.

After going through the destroyed city set, the sounds of people talking were heard through a pair of doors. Ratchet quickly peeked through them. After having his head between doors for a few moments, he looked down at Circuit and nodded his head towards the room. He also gave her the sign to stay quiet. After receiving a nod from the robot, Ratchet opened the doors and let Circuit walk in. She looked around the set, only seeing cameramen and a really loud director in a floating chair.

"Alright, back it up, back it up! Get into position..."

At first, Circuit was confused about what the director was talking about. Get in position? What position? That was when she spotted him. Her violet eyes lit up beautifully as Clank walked backwards on the set, several robot ninjas were following him. His eyes were narrowed in an angry position, and his black tux made Circuit completely melt. He was as handsome as she remembered. The female robot placed her hands on her chest and she quietly yelled.

"Clank!"

Ratchet walked up behind her, "Yep, Clank's a role model to all robots just for playing a secret agent...and, you know, not for saving the universe several times."

"Can I go and see him?"

"Not right now, they're filming a scene. But after they're done, go and jog that robot's memory. I'm sure that you two have a lot to catch up on."

"I just wish that he remembered me right now...then I could tell him how proud I am of him."

* * *

Clank liked having a show about him being a secret agent, he really did. However, he did find himself becoming rather bored with being a fake secret agent.

Every time he went to Holostar Studios, he ended up working until his systems shut him down for a recharge. He would spend days drilling scene after scene, hardly taking any breaks at all. And he got a harsh talking to from his director whenever he messed up a line or movement. It was almost as exhausting as saving the universe. But, of course, with Secret Agent Clank's popularity climbing, he had to produce more material in order to keep his fans happy. He couldn't just stop being Agent Clank because he was tired, that was just unfair to the viewers. And the people who worked on the set are good people who deserve the jobs that they had. Clank wasn't prepared to quit and strip everyone of their occupations, it would have been wrong. So he was trying to keep up with his director's ideas for the past few years, even if the constant working was making his systems age horribly. He would eventually need constant upgrades from Al in order to keep this TV series going, and that would be expensive. The life of a celebrity was definitely a hard one.

Today, they were filming Secret Agent Clank Season 5, Episode 16: Ninjas Forever. Agent Clank being targeted by a ninja-only guild called "Ninjas Forever", and he was apparently supposed to fall for their leader: Akira, the ninja princess, when she hypnotizes him with her eerie voice. Classic girl move. However, the actor who played Akira hadn't shown up, so they were currently filming what they could until they could find a replacement for her character. Right now, Agent Clank was being cornered by some red and blue ninjas, and he was supposed to to take them both out with karate chops to the neck. Now all he had to do was wait for the cue from the director and then-

"Clank!"

Suddenly, as Clank heard the sound of a female voice, everything around him seemed to slow down, like time itself was beginning to stop. Who was the girl who had just called his name? Was Akira's actor finally here? No...no that wasn't it. There was something in his memory banks just fighting to burst forth into his mind. He...he knew that voice. He had heard that girl's voice some time during his life. But who exactly was it?

The little robot turned his head and looked at the people who were watching him act. He looked through the crowd and attempted to locate the source of the voice. Almost everyone there was a male, so she shouldn't be that hard to find. It was when he looked over by the studio entrance that he saw Ratchet standing there. Why he was there, Clank had no idea. But wait...who was that robot standing next to him? The robot looked an awful lot like him, and its eyes were a wonderful shade of violet-

Clank's eyes went wide as he looked into the large eyes of the robot. His memory banks then went insane, so much so that it gave him a small headache. This robot, he knew who this robot was! But where had he seen her...?

 _"Wh-wh-what d-do you w-want from m-m-me?"_

 _"You have such a cute laugh!"_

 _"...Do you think that the person who made Klunk made me?"_

 _"Speak for yourself. Here you are, talking about about how good my drawings are, while I am just standing here in the presence of an intergalactic hero! Not to mention that you yourself are very kind, extremely smart, and absolutely charmi-"_

 _"I have never properly thanked you for everything that you have done for me up until now. I mean, I have thanked Ratchet many of times, but I never got around to thanking you. So...thank you."_

 _"What would a hero like you want with a weakling like me?"_

 _"Oh...well, I want to act more like you. I want to be smart and logical. So maybe I should spend more time with you."_

 _"Well, you know that I love you."_

 _"You no longer have to worry about me, Clank, Ratchet. Some things are best forgotten...and so are some people."_

 _"You do not have to worry about me, Clank. I am going to be fine."_

 _"I am in too much pain. May I please just lay down in the grass for a little while, please? It sounds most pleasant."_

 _"Daddy, Clank, thank you for this great life. I love you both..."_

"Ci..Cir...CIRCUIT!" Clank blurted out, making the little female robot jump. She was alive! Circuit survived the Hexzar Virus! He had to go see her at one!

"Cut! Cut!" The director yelled. Clank stood in his place, scolding himself for not remembering that he was being filmed as Agent Clank. The director looked annoyed as he hovered down towards him. "What the heck was that? What do circuits have to do with anything that you're doing?"

"Oh, um, I am very sorry sir but...m-may I take a quick break?" The little robot asked, trying to keep his eyes on Circuit.

"A quick break? I don't think so! We're in the middle of a scene here, we can't just take a break!"

"But, sir-"

"Alright, people, let's do it again! We'll film up to the point where Princess Akira shows up, and then we'll film everything after that! Get into position, Clank. And no more yelling nonsense. ya hear? Good, let's take it from the top!"

Clank looked at Circuit, who was giving the director a 'what the heck' look. Then she looked at the male robot and gave him a sad face. She really wanted to go and see him, but that stupid director wasn't letting him take his break, which was completely unfair. So, Clank gave her a sad shrug, then mouthed 'I am sorry. Just Wait there, I will be done soon', and he nodded when Circuit nodded. They started filming again, robot ninjas surrounding the robot actor. Circuit, however, was a bit angry. That mean director wasn't letting Clank see her, and he wasn't going to have any of that. There was no telling how long it would take for everything to be filmed, but she wanted to see Clank really, really badly. She had to think of something, a plan of sorts. Maybe a quick peek at that unattended script she could see would help her.

Circuit sneaked over to the director's chair, no one noticing the little robot's presence. Then, she jumped up and snatched the script off of his arm rest right before he floated upwards to see the scene better. Circuit flipped through the script, which turned out to be really good. It could do without the puns though. The little robot discovered that there was actually a female character that was in this episode, a ninja princess. And the actor had not shown up...

"Hmph, no one is going to keep me away from Clank," she said quietly as she took off her jacket, turning it inside out.

The little robot ran over to a crate the appeared to have some extra ninja outfit parts in case one of the actors lost something. Circuit jumped in and duh though it, grabbing parts of the black ninja's outfit. She grabbed a cloak and a mask. And she also located a white headband with a beautiful golden design. This must have been some sort of tiara for the princess's outfit, and she intended to wear it. After ducking behind a crate and putting everything on, Circuit observed herself in the mirror. Her black jacket and hood went perfectly with the caped cloak and mask. And the headband that wrapped around her head shined beautifully.

"As the actor people say: it's show time."

Clank took out the two ninjas that were cornering him, feeling a great sense of satisfaction as they fell to the ground after just one chop. However, he wasn't quite out of the woods yet. He turned around and discovered that he had a swarm of ninjas behind him. He sighed internally. He was going to be exhausted by the time that the filming was over. But he had to get done with it in order to see Circuit. It was extraordinarily difficult for him to contain his emotions. Circuit was alive, and he was very happy, but he had so many questions piling up in his mind that couldn't be answered until he was done. So he had to get through this, for Circuit. He turned his slightly so he could just peek at the female robot, but he had to fight back a confused look as he noticed that the female robot was gone. Ratchet must have noticed this, because he returned the confused look. Clank then mouthed to him.

'Where is Circuit?'

Ratchet's ears perked as he looked down at the ground. His eyes went wide as he noticed that Circuit was absent. He then mouth shouted 'What the heck?! Where did she go?!'

'I do not know! Find her!'

"I will, I will! Just keep going while I'll find her!'

'Just hurry up before she ends up getting lost-'

Clank was nearly taken down by one of the ninjas and he was forced to snap into focus. Alright, time to pretend to fight through some ninjas. The little robot prepared to launch himself at the army, and the army was ready to come and take him down. However, a single voice stopped them from doing anything.

"Ninjas, stand down!"

The ninjas looked confused as they were given a command by an unknown voice. But Clank's eyes were going wide as he recognized the voice. And his eyes went even wider as Circuit, who was dressed as a revised version of Princess Akira, stood above the ninja army. And by above, he meant on a fake cliff side that were actually painted stairs. She walked gracefully down the steps and right into the ninja masses. Of course, the robots made a path for her and bowed down. Their programming made it so they saw her as an actual princess, which was handy for Circuit. The female robot walked up to Clank, who was trying his best to keep his jaw up. But Ratchet, who he could see out the corner of his eye, wasn't holding his own jaw so well. The director looked confused as he whispered to a nearby cameraman.

"Who the heck is that? She's not Akira's actor!"

"Princess Akira," Agent Clank said as the robot walked up to him. Then he jokingly asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You know as well as I do that you hold no pleasure in seeing me," Circuit replied, placing a hand on her waist.

"I uh...heh-heh...I beg to differ," the male robot said, talking more to Circuit than Akira.

The female robot's face turned red under her hood, and she couldn't help but giggle. But she quickly got back into character, "Nothing makes a girl happier than a secret agent who wants to take down her ninja guild complimenting her. Come on, Agent Clank, you are better than that. I have been waiting a long time to meet you, and I do not want to waste time with playful banter." She reached into her cloak and pulled out a fake (but realistic looking) machete. The sight of the blade made all of the ninjas pull out their own weapons.

"Hmph, I am not one for fighting girls," Clank said, simply folding his arms and putting a smug look on his face. "Especially pretty ones."

"Hmm..." Circuit pretended to think of a devious plan of using her looks to swoon Agent Clank. Right now, he character was supposed to be thinking about hypnotizing Agent Clank into loving her. So, of course, she had to pause for a effect. Then she withdrew her machete, making all the ninjas stand down. She walked up to Clank and placed her hands on his shoulder. However, something happened as she did it. Circuit went from Akira grabbing onto a secret agent to herself grabbing onto Clank. She grabbed her mask and pulled it down off of her face. Then she looked up at Clank and spoke in a very soft and weird voice. "You spies like to have your little fun, and you sometimes forget about what your mission is about. With everything you have said already, agent, you have already gone far. But how far will you go for a weak girl like me? Will you see me as your enemy, like a villain, or will you see me as something else? If you learn to trust me, will you see me as your ally, your friend...your true love?"

Clank pretended to be put into a hypnotic state when Circuit talked to him. His eyes closed half way and he even swayed a little, making it look like that he was actually hypnotized. Then his hands slowly rose up and grabbed Circuit's hands, and he looked down at her. "I...I will always love you...Princess Akira...m-my Princess Akira."

Circuit smiled, deciding that now would be the right time. She leaned forward and shared a kiss with Agent Clank. Except, this wasn't Akira and Agent Clank. No...no this was definitely Circuit and Clank sharing a romantic moment instead of their characters. And it was fantastic for both of them.

The director hovered backwards and started talking to someone, "Wow, that kid is actually pretty good. I think that I'll offer her a contract. And, because she's just a stupid kid, I'll only pay her half of minimum wage, and she won't even know. I'm gonna take advantage of her little kid brain, and make a fortune off of her! Hahaha! What do you think, eh?" He looked at the person he was talking to and was startled as he saw the same Lombax face that he had fired years ago. "AH! What are you doing here?"

"Hey, director, you see that kid that you just called stupid? That's my daughter. And you see this balled up hand? That's my fist! And you see that bloody pulp? Oh wait, you can't because it's your face!" Ratchet yelled pulling his fist back and then launching it into the director's face.

Everyone turned to see what was happening, even Clank and Circuit. The director got up off of the floor and rolled up his sleeves, "Alright, Jeeves, you want some of this?!"

Circuit covered her eyes as Ratchet and the director got into a physical fight. This was definitely a sight that she didn't want to see. Clank must have known how uncomfortable she was with the fighting, because he grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her away, "Come, we do not want to be around while this is happening."

"Are we not going to do anything?"

"Do not worry, this has happened before. The camera crew will break them up, their wounds will be treated, and Ratchet will have to pay for the damage he has caused."

"Alright..."

Clank took Circuit out of the set, the ninjas bowing to their princess as she was guided through their masses. Then, with the sound of Ratchet and the TV show director fighting each other fading, the two robots ran off to Clank's trailer, where they would have a bit more solitude. After marveling at how wonderful his trailer looked, Circuit climbed up the stairs after Clank and entered the trailer itself. It was really nice. And everything was lowered towards the ground so short robots like Clank would have an easier time getting to things. The female robot wandered around a little bit as Clank closed the door. After taking a deep breath, he looked at Circuit, who looked back at him.

"...I suppose that you would like an explanation."

"That would be most helpful, yes."

"Alright...I will tell you everything."

Circuit stood there and told Clank everything that had happened to her: going to the Great Clock, spending a year with Sigmund, waking up on the Starship Phoenix, meeting Sasha and reuniting with Ratchet. Clank looked a bit sad when she told him about meeting Orvus, but her perked up a little when she said that she was now a Zoni just like him, and that her real name was XJ-0462. So they were truly two of a model. Then Clank asked her why she and Ratchet had decided to come to Holostar Studios anyway. Circuit shrugged and told him that she really wanted to see him again, which made Clank's face so red. He had forgotten how red his face would get whenever Circuit would compliment him or say something cute.

"Yeah, Ratchet mentioned your name and...and I sort of lost it. I told him that I needed to see you, that I could not wait until you were done filming. I am sorry about intruding on your episode. I was mad that your director would not allow you to take a break, and all I simply wanted to do was talk to you. So, I stole a script and some clothes. I do look ridiculous with this on."

"I like the headband," Clank said, pointing to the white and gold headband. "It actually looks rather nice on you."

"Oh...w-well, thank you. I like it too. I know that I usually wear nothing but a black jacket, but the gold of the headband kind of drew me towards it."

"Speaking of your black jacket, the one that you are wearing is not the one that I remember."

"Oh, um, about that. You see, one of the soldiers from the Starship Phoenix threw my old jacket away because it was dirty and torn up. Sasha felt so bad that she actually gave me this one." Circuit prepared to take her jacket off, but she hesitated and looked at Clank, "U-Umm...d-do not look."

Clank quickly nodded then covered his eyes with his hands, completely cutting off his vision. Circuit quickly removed the cloak and head band and took her jacket off, turning back to its original side. She put it back on and told Clank that it was okay to look now. The male robot uncovered his eyes and tilted his head at the sight of the new jacket. He got a bit closer and observed it. He recognized the Q-Force symbol, and then he read what it said underneath.

"Junior Cadet...? Wait, Circuit, did you become a soldier of the Q-Force?"

"Wh-What? No, of course not! You know that I am way too weak and afraid to join any sort of army or military!"

Clank sighed and placed his hands on his waist as he heard Circuit call herself weak and afraid. It was starting already. She was already going back to the self dissing, low confidence self. But maybe Clank would actually be able to help her this time now that there was no confusion or depression going on inside of her head. No Nefarious, no Biobliterator 2.5, no Hexzar virus to worry her. Clank made a vow to himself that he would help Circuit gain some self confidence. And he knew that Ratchet would help as well. But he would discuss that after the Lombax was finished beating up the director. So, he might as well begin without him. He walked up to Circuit, who was staring at the 'Junior Cadet' writing on her jacket, and grabbed her hands.

"Circuit, the last thing that you are is someone who is weak and afraid. Though I know that you do not like talking about it, but I must bring up the fight between you and Klunk. While Klunk was beating you up and attempting to murder you, you simply took all of it in. You refused to fight him back. You were not afraid of someone who wanted you dead. And then you delivered to Klunk the most beautiful speech my audio sensors have ever heard. You used words instead of violence, and it worked. You defeated your enemy by making them your friend, and that is one of bravest and strongest things that a person can do. You see yourself as these bad things, Circuit, you focus on the flaws that you believe you have."

"But everyone has flaws."

"I know that, even I am aware of my own flaws, but I do not focus on them. No, I focus on the positive things about me, and you need to start doing that as well. You are not a weakling who is too afraid to join the military. You, Circuit, are a sweet girl with talents that are beyond incredible, and you deserve better than what you experienced in your first memories of life. It makes we wish that Ratchet and I had found you much earlier than we did."

"Cl-Cla...Clank!" Circuit wrapped her arms around Clank. She sobbed lightly. "You are still the kind and thoughtful robot that I have come to love with all of my heart. And words cannot describe how happy I am to see you again. It is a year long dream that has finally came true."

Clank smiled and hugged Circuit back. She was right, it really was a dream come true, though he didn't know it until he looked into those still beautiful violet eyes. But the robot was happy beyond words. Circuit was alive and well, he could hardly believe it. But, he had the proof right in his arms. It was so great to have her back. So great, that Clank himself began to sob. Now there were two robots crying, but they didn't care about how pathetic they looked. They were in love, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

 **The ship is back people! I repeat, the ship is back! ClankxCircuit, or Clacuit, is at full force once more!**

 **Yep, Circuit is now together with Ratchet AND Clank once more! YAAAAY!**

 **But, not gonna lie, I don't really know what to do from this point. But I'm sure I'll think of something fast. In fact, I'm forming an idea as I type this sentence.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess if Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	11. Chapter 11

Circuit leaned up against the wall and looked out the window through the blinds, a bit concerned that she was going to see police cars. Ratchet and the director had been fighting pretty hard, and she was worried that someone was going to call the authorities and have the Lombax taken away to jail. Clank must have sensed this worry because he told her:

"If you are concerned about Ratchet getting in trouble with the galactic authorities, do not be. Ratchet has some...how should I say...'dirt' on the studio."

"Dirt? What does he have on them?" Circuit asked, looking at the male robot.

"Well, I am not exactly allowed to tell you, but I think that I can get away with this. You see, the studio crew and director tends to put the actors in...dangerous situations. Dangerous as in...life threatening dangerous."

"Life threatening? My god, what do they do to you?"

"You know those ninjas that recognized you as Akira? Well, they are not really actors. They are robots who are actually programmed to kill me, they wish to see me dead. Also, I do sometimes have to jump over actual lava pits, jump over actual lasers, and hang on for my life over an electrified field. And, for the movie that we filmed a long time ago, they built a colossal dragon who shot actual bullets and rockets at me. This job has nearly killed me on several occasions, but the studio cannot have that fact getting out into the public. So, whenever Ratchet gets in trouble here, he threatens to tell the public about the dangerous situations I get put in by my director."

"You have almost died here? Why in the world would you want to keep working here if every set that you walk into is a...a...a-a deathtrap!"

Clank sighed and placed his hands on his waist, "Because I cannot help but like being Agent Clank and I also enjoy being role model to robots around the universe...also because Ratchet and I need the extra bolts."

"Well, that is...actually understandable. You could ask your director to be a bit more careful with the sets though. I do not want you getting hurt."

"I do not think that I am in any sort of danger, Circuit. Remember all of the real life threatening situations that I have been in with Ratchet. I believe that I am capable of handling a few ninjas and lava pits."

"I wish that I could say the same thing. If I was forced to act in a dangerous environment, I would back out immediately...either that, or Ratchet would beat up the director for putting me in dangerous environment."

"Hmph, I would join in on that beating," Clank said quietly, putting his fist in his palm.

Circuit gave Clank a strange look, but she was distracted before Clank could notice it. She noticed a stack of white papers on the short coffee table, and it looked totally untouched. Perhaps he hadn't notice it yet? So, Circuit picked up the stack of papers and showed it to Clank.

"Violence aside, what is this?"

"Hm?" Clank observed the papers, then he nodded. "That would the script for the new episode. I will have to-"

"Oh, cool! I want to read!" Circuit said, opening the script, but Clank quickly tried to take it from her.

"Hey, give that to me!" Clank said, trying to grab the papers.

"Ladies first, Clank. You are a polite boy, so you should know that," she replied, putting the script in one hand and pushing Clank back with the other. The male robot tried to reach the script from where he was, but Circuit was doing a pretty good job of holding him back. He was surprised at how strong she was, because she could hardly lift Ratchet's Omniwrench when she was first alive. However, Clank had strength of his own, and it was far superior to the female robot's. But, before he could so anything, Circuit looked at him. "I cannot help but think that this situation should be the other way around."

"Well, let me help with that!"

"Wait, wha-hey!" Clank pushed passed Circuit and snatched the script from her hands. Then he placed his hand on her face and kept her back like she had been doing to him. After a few moments of struggling to get the script back. Then she realized what Clank had been talking about, and her shoulders dropped. She half closed her eyes and gave her friend an unamused look. "Real, clever, Clank. That was real clever."

"You sound just like your father."

"Was...was that a compliment or not?"

"I do not know, I am still trying to decide that. Alright, let us see here..."

Clank opened the script to the first page, where it told him the episode name and plot, which was just a continuation of the ninja guild and Princess Akira. Then he flipped to the page that told him the upgrades that he needed to use. There were only two: Heli-Pack, which he used in most of the episodes, and the Robo-Wings, for some sort of sky chase scene. However, it had been awhile since he had used those upgrades, so perhaps he should take a moment to at least stretch the blades and wings. So he put the script down and backed away from Circuit, who was watching him with curiosity.

"What are you doing?"

"I am in need of exercising some of my equipment so I am prepared to use them properly when I am being filmed," Clank replied, getting ready to activate his Heli-Pack. He couldn't help but smile a little when she saw the impatient look on Circuit's face. In the robot face, nothing impressed a female more than a male with upgrades. So, he activated the Heli-Pack and unfolded the helicopter blades. Circuit's eyes brightened in awe.

"Ooh, those are cool!" The female robot said, spinning one of the blades. "Though they make you look a bit..."

"Like a dork?" Clank finished.

Circuit laughed nervously, trying to make it sound like that she didn't fully agree, "You said it, not me. Anyway, what else do you have?"

"Well, I have these..." Clank retracted the helicopter blades, searched around his upgrades, and then released his large, green Robo-Wings.

Somehow, Circuit's eyes appeared to glow brighter, "Wh-Whoa! I recall my earlier statement. _Those_ are cool!" She was about to say something else as she walked up and placed a hand on one of the wings, but something interrupted her. As she laid a single finger on the silver outline of the wing, a strange sense entered her system, it seemed both familiar and unknown. It was almost like she...knew something specific about the upgrades. The next thing she knew, she was saying: "Zoni..."

"Beg pardon?"

"These...these wings came from the Zoni...how-how do I know that?"

"Simple: you are sensing my Zoni made upgrade because you yourself are a Zoni."

"Oh...it is so strange, how I can sense things without even trying...an-anyway, I should let you get back to your script. No doubt that your director will be uptight after his fight with Ratchet."

"I suppose that you are right."

Clank retracted his Robo-Wings (after Circuit admired them for a few more moments, saying how she wished that she had a pair) and then picked up his script. He opened the papers up and began reading it as his female counterpart wandered about. She looked at several picture throughout the trailer, which included several of him and Ratchet...who was in a chauffeur's outfit. She guessed that that was why the director had called Ratchet 'Jeeves', because that was his character name when he was apart of the show. She wondered why he wasn't working here anymore, but then she remembered the horrible, horrible director that he was currently fighting with. The robot had a temptation to go and check on the Lombax because she was worried about the fight that he was in, but then she concluded that he was fine. Ratchet had taken on a bunch of dangerous villains throughout his life, he could handle a naggy and chubby director.

Circuit took another look out the window to see if anything was going on outside, but she jumped badly when she heard the dropping of something and a large metallic 'thud'. She quickly turned around and saw Clank leaning up against the trailer wall, the script laying scattered at his feet. He was attempting to gasp heavily as his brilliant green eyes became wide and strained. If he was an organic, he would be sweating right now.

Concerned, Circuit went over to the robot and tried to look him in the face, Clank made no attempt to look at her. She gave a very concerned look.

"Clank? What is the matter?"

"I...I...I will not do it...I...I cannot do it!" The male robot said, beginning to tremble. "I cannot do it...I cannot not do it again..."

"What can you not do? Clank? Clank, answer me!" Circuit quickly picked up the script and began reading through it, hoping that she would find an answer. She stopped and read through the episode. She stopped on one of the final pages, where she saw Clank stop when he dropped the script.

'Let's see, Agent Clank is cornered on the edge of the Eternal Abyss, the ninjas blocking his only escape. A single ninja summoned an electrical charge using an ancient technique that only the toughest of ninja can master. And as the pulsing ball is launched and thrown at Agent Clank, the fate of the robot slowly being sealed, Clank's monkey partner and friend jumps in front of him and...and takes the blast. The blast stops his heartbeat and the monkey falls off of the edge and into the Eternal Abyss...'

Circuit looked up at Clank, "Clank, you know that your partner is just an actor right? And the whole scene is just an act, no one is going to get hurt, you do not have to worry-"

"That is not it!" Clank yelled, frightening Circuit a bit. He took a few moments to collect himself, and then he sighed. The male robot looked at Circuit with his big, innocent, brilliant green eyes. "That...that is not it..."

"Oh, well...what is it then?"

"I...I do not think that you would appreciate what the truth behind my fear is."

"Clank, you told me one year ago that we can be honest with each other. And that means that you can tell me anything. Go on...tell me what the issue is."

Clank let out another sigh. He really couldn't believe that he was about to tell little innocent Circuit about one of the greatest traumas that he had ever been through. But, he knew that he had to tell her at some point in her life, so he might as well get it out to her now before...before she became even more attached to Ratchet. He nodded, "Alright, Circuit, I will tell you. I must warn you though, you are definitely not going to like what I am about to reveal to you."

"I am fully prepared for anything that I will dislike," Circuit said, placing her hand on her chest compartment.

Clank nodded again, though he knew that Circuit definitely wasn't prepared for what he had to tell her. Still, he took a deep, non-air filled breath, and then spoke: "Several years ago, Ratchet and I were at the Great Clock with another Lombax named Alister Azimuth. Alister's goal was to use the clock as a time machine so he could bring the Lombax race back. However, he did not realize that the clock was not a time machine, it was only mean to keep time, not alter it. But he refused to listen to us. He kept relying on Ratchet to be on his side and not mine. However, when Ratchet finally accepted the fate of the Lombaxes and refused to use the clock, Alister grew very, very furious. And, as Ratchet prepared to walk me inside the Orvus Chamber, Alister accused Ratchet of treason. Then, in a fit of rage and fury, Alister..." Clank paused, trying to make his way through the hard part of the story. "Alister released an electrified pule from his weapon and it hit Ratchet in the chest. The impact stopped his heart...and Ratchet fell off the platform and into the void of space...dead."

"Dead...?!" Circuit said with a strained voice. No, that was impossible! Ratchet...dead?! "B-But Ratchet is right outside! He is not dead!"

"I know that. I used the clock to travel back six minutes in time to stop Alister from killing Ratchet. However...the image of Ratchet being struck down and falling off the balcony has been forever burned into my memory banks. I watched Ratchet die, and my mind will not allow me to forget it. That is why I am uncomfortable with that scene from the script, it reminds me too much of that day. It reminds me to much...of Ratchet being killed..."

Circuit took a moment to let that sink in. That was crazy. Clank had seen Ratchet die right before his own eyes. And she thought that she herself had been through major trauma...

A question came into Circuit's head, "Does Ratchet know?"

"No, he does not. And, Circuit, I would prefer that if it was kept that way. Ratchet looked up to Alister, and I do not want him knowing that his father-figure killed him. So please do not tell him."

"O-Oh! Of course, I swear on my life, I will not say a word to him..." Circuit hung her head a little bit. "I just...cannot believe that Ratchet was killed. If I was in your position, I would have nightmares about it all the time."

"To tell you the truth, Circuit...I do have constant nightmares about the incident."

"You do?"

"Yes. Remember the night when we slept on the couch together because we both had bad dreams?"

Yes, I remember that night," Circuit replied, blushing a little.

"Well, the dream that I had that kept me up was indeed a nightmare about that night at the Great Clock. I told you that I did not want to discuss it because I was not willing to tell you about it, because you were not ready to know about it," he sighed once more. "All of this may sound like an unforgettable, traumatic experience, and it was. However, over the years, I have been slowly recovering from what I saw, and I hope that, someday, it will leave my memories for good-"

Circuit put her hands on both sides of Clank's head and placed her forehead on his. Their eye colors mixed together to make a midair purple and green aurora. The female robot spoke softly as Clank simply stood there. "You are so brave, Clank. And I am so proud of you."

"Hehehehe! You seem to be proud of everything I do. You would be proud if I released a moth outside instead of killing it."

"Moths have feelings, too."

Clank giggled again as Circuit said that. She would make the cutest comments sometimes, he absolutely loved it. He wrapped his arms around her, which made her giggle a little and hug him back. This was the second time that they had hugged in the past ten minutes, and they still didn't care about how they looked. They still loved each other, and they weren't afraid to show it. However, they might have wanted to recall that statement as the trailer door was flung open, and an exhausted Ratchet entered. He looked a little messed up, but no doubt the director took more damage than him.

"Hey, Clank, Circuit, I got off the hook again so I'm not in anyyyyyyy-I am interrupting, aren't I?" Ratchet asked, looking down at the two robots.

Clank and Circuit quickly separated, both of their faces, if they were organics, were bright red. Why did Ratchet always have to show up whenever they were trying to be romantic with each other? Clank folded his arms as he tried to his his blushing face, "Honestly, has it ever occurred to you to knock before you enter?"

Ratchet stared at the robot with a blank look, then he turned around and exited the trailer. Circuit and Clank looked at each other, both with strange looks on their faces, then they jumped as a loud knock came from the door. Then Ratchet opened it and entered the trailer once again. He looked at Clank and shrugged "I knocked, didn't I?"

Clank pinched the bridge of where his nose would be and sighed, "So, how much trouble are you in?"

"Eh, not that bad actually. I did have a valid reason to beat the crap out of that stupid director, so I only have to pay one hundred bolts for damages. And then I uh...hey, Circuit, are you alright?"

Ratchet and Clank looked at Circuit, who was looking at the Lombax with an extraordinarily miserable face. Clank knew what she was thinking about, and he wanted her to stop. She caught on to the male robot's look, and she quickly rubbed her eyes and pretended to be tired. "Yes, I am fine. It is just the issue with my systems acting up again, no big deal."

"What is wrong with your systems?" Clank asked.

"They're just working a bit too hard in order to have Circuit keep up. She needs a major software update," Ratchet explained.

"Hm, perhaps you should see Al. He does a fantastic job with my systems."

"Uh, I do not know. Al is kind of...well, not to be rude, but, he is kind of...scary looking," Circuit finally admitted.

"Don't worry, Al is a good guy, and you should know that," the Lombax said. "You saw how much he tried to help Clank when he had the He-" Ratchet stopped himself before he could finish that term. The last thing that he wanted to do was remind Circuit about the whole Hexzar Virus ordeal. It was what killed her after all.

However, Circuit had already gotten the gist of what Ratchet was going to say, and she looked up at him and nodded, "...Alright, I will go and see him. As long as he can get my energy back up. Being tired all of the time is not any fun."

"Good. We can actually go and see him right now. Besides, I think that we've bothered Clank for long enough. He's still got work to do."

"You have not been bothering me...well, at least not Circuit," Clank said, pointing his thumb at the female robot.

Circuit didn't laugh at the comment or anything because she had something else on her mind. When her mind was made up, she nodded to herself and then looked up at Ratchet. "Ratchet, I am willing to go see Al at his Robo Shack. But I have a request for upgrades."

"What is it?" Ratchet asked, looking a bit curious.

The little robot put her hands in her pocket and a determined look formed on her face. "I want Robo-Wings."

* * *

 **Well, that was sort of a sad and happy chapter. But, anyway, looks like that Circuit loved Clank's Robo-Wings to the point that she really wants a pair of her own. Will she get them? Eh, who knows?**

 **Sorry that this took so long to get up. I've been quite the busy person for the past week. However, Thanksgiving break starts on Thursday, and I get four whole days without school...well, 4.5 actually because Wednesday is a half day.**

 **Also, I need requests for Organic Ordeal! I posted the new chapter last week and I only got two reviews...and neither of them had requests. So if y'all want me to continue the story, I need requests. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Organic Ordeal is a story of mine in which Clank has been turned into a Lombax and reviewers send in requests for what they want the new organic Clank to do. It's both funny and adorable).**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	12. Chapter 12

"R-Robo-Wings? Why do you want a pair of those?" Ratchet asked, very surprised by the sudden request.

"Because, I think that it would be neat if I could fly," Circuit replied. She walked over to Clank and then went behind him. A confused look formed on her face as she poked the male robot's arm. "Clank, do...do the thing that you did earlier. Bring out your Robo-Wings."

"Alright, I will. Kindly step away to avoid being hit by them."

Circuit stepped back as Clank tucked his arms away inside his body and unfolded his Robo-Wings. The female robot let out a tiny excited squeal as she placed her hand on top of one of the wings. She looked up at Ratchet, "It would be amazing if I had wings like these. I know that they came from the Zoni, but I'm sure that you or Al could make a replica pair for me."

"Circuit, I uh...I dunno," Ratchet said, placing a hand on the back of his neck.

"You know Ratchet, her lust for Robo-Wings is actually not too bizarre," Clank said. "I am honestly not seeing the disadvantage of Circuit leaning to fly. It will definitely help her get around movement wise. And, if I am ever not around, you can use her when you really need the Robo-Wings."

"Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt to get you some...wait, aren't you afraid of heights? Why would you want to fly if you're afraid of heights?"

"I-I have been working on conquering that fear at the Great Clock! I have not fully gotten over it, but I will! I promise!" Circuit replied.

Ratchet crossed his arms, looking down at Circuit. He sighed, giving in to the look in her large violet eyes, "Alright, we'll see what Al can do. He'll need some sort of blueprint, though. Clank, can you email one to Al? I don't think that he's familiar with Zoni technology."

Clank nodded and began preparing an email in his own computer system, Circuit at Ratchet again, "Thank you, Ratchet."

"Eh, what can I say? Clank can be really freaking persuasive sometimes. Now come on, let's go before the director comes back for round two."

After shooting an email with blueprints attached to it, Clank said bye to Circuit and Ratchet. Circuit telling him that, if he still didn't like the script, to request that the bad part be changed to make him more comfortable with it. The male robot thanked her for the suggestion, and then went back inside of his trailer. Ratchet then took Circuit back to Aphelion where they would go to Al's Robo Shack to get her updates and upgrades, though Circuit felt really bad about leaving Clank. However, she knew that he was a strong robot, she knew that he would be alright. As she and Ratchet arrived at the ship, the Lombax helped her up onto the wing. But, as he prepared to jump onto the ship himself, a beaten up director walked into the entrance.

"Yeah, that's right, run away!" He yelled out.

Ratchet's ears lowered and he bared his teeth as Circuit suddenly grabbed his arm. She shook her head, "No, Ratchet, he is not worth it."

"...You're right," the Lombax said with a nod. He then pushed himself up onto the ship wing.

"Hey, Jeeves! One more thing before you go!" The director yelled, an unsettling smile forming on his face. "Your daughter looks like a dude!"

Circuit's eyes went wide and she let out a small upset gasp. She looked a like a male? No...no she didn't...or did she? Ratchet saw how offended by that she was, and he wasn't happy about that. He jumped off of the ship and ran towards the director, raising his fist, " _Don't you dare insult my kid!_ "

 _BAM!_

 **Several miles away from Planet Kerwan...**

Circuit sat in her seat quietly after they left Holostar Studios. Ratchet really nailed the director with that last punch, no doubt that he had broken something. The most most likely. Of course, some of the camera crew scurried out of their positions to come and watch, but Ratchet had Circuit in her seat and in his own and off the planet before anyone could comment. The Lombax then took a few deep breathes so he could get out any excess anger that he had for that stupid director. But the punch had gotten rid of the majority of it.

But Ratchet's anger wasn't why Circuit was staying silent. Actually, she was quiet because of why her father was so furious. The director said that she looked like a male...she didn't know why, but that insult really got to her. Though she was aware that her appearance wasn't exactly feminine, she didn't think that she looked completely like a male robot. Then again, her own brother questioned if she was female because she was lacking in...she pushed the remained of that thought away. The little robot glanced at her reflection in the windshield. She was looking at a Clank, a male robot, with violet eyes. The director was right...she really did look like a male.

A tap on the head caught Circuit's attention. She looked next to her and saw Ratchet looking at her, "Are you alright? You've been staring at your reflection for awhile."

"Nothing is wrong, Ratchet. There is no need for concern."

After staring at Circuit for a moment, the Lombax's ears perked up, "You're thinking about what the director said about you, aren't you?"

"Well...yes, that is one thing that I am pondering at the moment."

"Don't listen to a word that that jerk says! He only said that to make me mad, and it...kinda worked, actually. Anyway, you don't look like a dude, Circuit."

"But I look exactly like Clank, who is a male robot."

"Yes, but...uhh..." Ratchet trailed off, trying to think of a good way to respond to Circuit. However, he really had no argument. So, he just tried to wing it, "Clank can't pull off those adorable faces that you can do."

"Oh..." Circuit said quietly, extremely unsatisfied with Ratchet's response.

The Lombax sighed, "Look, Circuit, I really can't think of a way that your appearance makes you look like a girl, and I'm sorry about that. You look exactly like a male robot and you can't help that, that was how you were built. But you shouldn't care about what you look like, let alone if you look male or female. And if someone picks on you for looking like a boy, all you have to do is-"

"Ignore them?"

"Well I was going to say call me over so I can kick their butt, but ignoring them is good too."

Circuit hugged her knees and smiled a little. It was so amusing, how much Ratchet was protective of her. He would do anything to protect her, and he would beat up whoever was mean to her. Heck, he beat someone up just because they said that she was stupid. She guessed that that would teach people not to mess with the daughter of an intergalactic hero.

 **Planet Kerwan: Al's Robo Shack**

Ratchet grabbed Circuit and jumped out of the ship after landing right outside Al's Robo Shack. As he held the robot, he couldn't help but notice that she was becoming tense. She had never gotten an upgrade before, and no doubt that the thought of a man she hardly knew putting stuff in her insides frightened her. So, he gave her a reassuring pat in the head.

"Hey, don't worry. I've known Al for years, he'll do a great job upgrading you. And I'll be there the whole time, so it's not like you're gonna be alone with him. It'll be as simple as upgrading a...a weapon..." Ratchet trailed off, making Circuit give him a strange look. The Lombax had just remembered something about Circuit that he couldn't believe he didn't think about before. He stopped walking and looked down at the little robot. "Hey, Circuit, there's something I need to know."

"What is it?" She asked innocently.

"You know that power that the Zoni gave you, the power to upgrade weapons? Can...can you still do that?"

"Hm, that is a fair question," Circuit said, placing a digit on her chin. "I do not know if I can do it now that I am alive again."

"What do you mean? You mean that you used it while you were dead?"

"Uh-huh. I have been practicing it in the afterlife by upgrading some of the wind up gear cleaners. I managed to learn how to do it without becoming scared, too!"

"Wait, really? Let me see!"

"Alright, I will check to see if I can still do it. No promises though..."

Circuit closed her eyes and sharpened her focus to the fullest extent. She checked the area for any weapons that could be upgraded. After a few moments, she located a few of them nearby, some of which were sort of grouped together, like they were in the same room. The little robot then focused all of her Zoni energy on one of the weapons, she should be able to do that. It took a bit of inner pushing, but she believed that she was succeeding. When she was done, all she had to do was tell Ratchet where the weapon was so he could-

"AHHHH! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!"

Ratchet and Circuit looked at each other in panic as they heard Al yell from inside of his shop. Then Ratchet quickly ran inside and burst through the doors, only to be blinded by several bright lights. Circuit quickly gave an alerted gasp when she noticed that the glowing lights were the weapons that she had located. It looked like that she may have unleashed too much energy or something, but she never intended for this to happen. Maybe she was out of practice.

When the lights faded away, Ratchet rubbed his eyes and then looked around. He located several gold weapons throughout the shop (his eyes shimmering a bit as he laid eyes on them). Circuit looked up at him, her face made it look like that she was in trouble.

"I am sorry. I-I made that happen, but I did not mean to. I only meant to upgrade one..."

"Well, at least you showed me that you can still upgrade weapons. Looks like you're having a difficult time controlling it though."

"Yeah, it is hard. It is difficult to focus on just one weapon with pure concentration. My mind likes to wander sometimes...huh?"

Al emerged from under the front desk, looking around for anymore glowing objects. He had been just sitting there when all of the sudden all of the weapons he had lying around the shop started lighting up to the point that it made the whole store shine. At first he thought that it was some sort of trick by some gangsters or something and that they would use the light as a distraction while they robbed the place. But he had calmed down slightly when he heard Ratchet's voice.

"Al? Are you alright?" Ratchet asked, approaching the cyborg.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What the heck was that, anyway? I thought that I was getting robbed by gang members!"

"Gang members?" Circuit asked quietly. She shook her head and spoke up, "U-Uh, sorry, Mr. Al. I was the one who made all of those things glow. I was only trying to do one, but then I lost control."

"Hey, I remember you," Al said, pointing at Circuit. He must have looked into her eyes. "You're that Clank lookalike I met the night that Clank had the Hexzar Virus."

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, introductions aside-" Ratchet began, but was interrupted by Al.

"How did you make those weapons upgrade? You must have sent a signal beyond the limits of modern day technology in order to make them do that."

"Well, I uh...I do not know how to explain this, but-"

"Nevermind the weapon upgrading," the now irritated Lombax said, covering Circuit's mouth. "We need to focus on robot upgrading. Did you get the blueprints that Clank sent you?"

"Yes, I was wondering what those were for. You must want to install them into that robot," Al said.

"That's right. Also, her software needs updating, and her systems could use a healthy tweak. She gets tired really easily because her system is having a hard time keeping up. Plus we need the Robo-Wings. You think that you can do all of that?"

"Ratchet, you're talking to someone who has a Masters Degree in Robotics, a certificate from the School of Technology, and someone who has mastered rolling fifteen and above when my level thirty seven Paladin is attacking with a long sword. I think I can handle all of that. Come to the back so we can lay her down."

The cyborg walked away from the counter and to the back room, Ratchet following. Circuit looked up at him with a confused face. "Level thirty seven Paladin?"

"Don't ask. It's nerd stuff."

Ratchet entered the room and set Circuit down on the large metal table that was in the center. The little robot looked around, she was in the same room that Clank had almost died in...and it was quite unsettling. She could also tell by the look in Ratchet's eyes that he was thinking the same thing. But he was also thinking about how this room is where Circuit infected herself with the Hexzar Virus. And he never liked to think about that. It was a memory that will always haunt him, whether Circuit was alive and well or not.

Another thing that Circuit was nervous about was the fact that Al was about to be looking at her insides, and that sounded most unpleasant. Though it did calm her a little when she remembered that she would be put to sleep during the updating, so she wouldn't feel a thing. Plus, Al seemed like a nice guy, and he was a professional at what he did. So there was nothing to be worried about...

"Alright, let's take a look at you," Al said, who had a small drill in his hand.

"AHH!" Circuit yelped, curling up into a defensive ball and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Hey, what's your problem-oh my goodness!"

Al was interrupted by two weapons that were lying on the floor glowed a bright white light, and then exploded into their upgraded forms. It had been awhile since Circuit had upgraded weapons due to fear. But she appeared to be totally unable to control what she upgraded. Did she become more powerful when she discovered that she was part Zoni? And was she now unable to control that new amount of power?

Circuit raised her head and looked at the two weapons on the floor, "S-Sorry...I cannot help it."

"We really have to do something about that," Ratchet said, folding his arms. "But I don't know what."

"I may have a solution, actually. Oh, and I wasn't actually going to use the drill. I just do that to scare my customers sometimes!" Al said, but he backed down when he saw the now mad look on Ratchet's face. "A-Anyway. That little power you have there is really unique. I've seen nothing like it. However, obviously you can't control it at all. But I think that I may have something that could help you control what you upgrade."

"What is it?" Circuit asked.

"Well, you see, I have this chip that can show me an encyclopedia of the different weapons in the universe. However, it's an interactive 'do-it-yourself' sort of thing, and I have to scan a weapon in order to add it. I was thinking that, if I installed it into your circuitry, you could scan weapons and then add it to a 'weapons you can upgrade' part of your memory banks. If you associate the scanned weapon data with your little power or whatever, you can then just focus on that one weapon and upgrade it at will."

"That's...actually a really good idea. Good thing Clank isn't here, because you two would be going on about this new upgrade thing forever," Ratchet said.

"Yes, well, what do you think? Do you want to give the encyclopedia chip a shot?" Al asked Circuit more than Ratchet.

Circuit thought about it for a moment. Being able to upgrade a weapon at will...that would no doubt be very helpful to Ratchet. And helping Ratchet was one of the only things that she wanted to do in life. So, she looked up at Al with determination and nodded, "Yes, I will gladly give the chip a shot. If it can help me control my power, then it cannot do any harm."

"Alright, it's settled then. Let's get started before I have to close up shop."

Circuit laid down on the metal table, which was really hard and cold, she didn't really like it. However, the feeling of uncomfortableness started to fade as Ratchet opened her head panel and shut her down. Her vision was going fast, as well as her hearing. But she heard Al yell to her as she went out.

"Oh, I almost forgot, what color do you want your wings to be?"

Circuit tried to answer, but her voice box was already off. She wasn't able to answer the questions, which made her a bit sad, since Al would probably go with Clank's brilliant green color. However, the moment before she deactivated, she heard Ratchet say.

"Don't worry, I know what color she wants them to be."

After that, everything became silent, and she fell asleep, already eager for when she wakes up.

* * *

 **I meant to post this yesterday, but somehow I ended up watching Parasyte again, and I kinda got absorbed into that...it's a really good anime.**

 **So, looks like Circuit's gonna learn to fly next chapter! Should be exciting! But Circuit is also struggling with the fact that she looks like a boy, and Ratchet's attempts to make her feel better didn't exactly work too well (though he tried his best).**

 **Oh, and I recently typed up a scene with Circuit and Ratchet that you'll probably hate me for writing. Why? Can't say because of that evil thing called "spoilers".**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	13. Chapter 13

_Circuit sat down in the middle of a dark area, where the only light source available was the light coming off of her eyes. However, being in the dark place didn't frighten her or anything; she wasn't trembling or wanting Ratchet or anything like that. And that was because she knew where she was: she was inside of her own mind. It may sound weird, but this was always what happened when a robot was shut down, they retire to their minds where they sit and wait for their bodies to reactivate. Circuit had been here not too long ago thanks to her being transported from the Great Clock to her body, though she had spent a short time in there. But now she was back again, sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest, waiting for Ratchet and Al to get done fixing her. She wished that they would hurry up, because she was getting really bored just sitting there and waiting._

 _As she sat there, Circuit looked down at the ground, shining a violet light onto the silver ground. She was looking at something that gave her heart quite the emotional injury. Truth was, she had not sat down in a random place in her mind. No, she looked for this certain spot, for a certain something on the ground. What was that something? To someone else, it would just appear as a strange make on the ground shaped like some sort of strange lightning bolt. To Circuit, however, the mark was so much more. The strange lightning bolt engraved into her mind was where Klunk had stuck his machete when he had started to take control of her. Circuit could remember the whole scene clearly. Klunk tapped the ground, explaining how the floor was her mind, and, as Circuit begged Klunk not to, he had shoved the blade into the floor, making a purple mist to flow out. Then he touched the mist, which made the purple fuse with a red color. She remembered him telling her that the mist was like her sense of sanity, and how he had control of it. Sure, it sounded horrible and totally unforgivable, but Circuit was willing to let the whole ordeal go. After all, Klunk was her brother, and he did die for her. Though he was evil at first, Klunk really was a good robot in the end-_

 _Ting..._

 _The sound of something going 'ting' made Circuit jump a tiny bit and she looked around. That was definitely strange. Where did that noise come from? There shouldn't be anyone or anything else in that place except for Circuit herself. So what in the world could it have been? She would go and looked around, but it was too dark to see anything, even with her violet eyes shining. So she just closed her eyes and listened very carefully, hoping to get some sort of hint on where or what this object was and where it was at. However, her hearing wasn't exactly the greatest in the universe, so there was probably now way that she could locate the source from just listening. So she stood up and decided to go looking for it, whether she could see or not. But turned out that she didn't have to look far. Circuit looked up as she heard something coming down to the ground, she didn't know what it was, but whatever it is, it was big. How could she tell that it was big? Because it was heading straight towards her. And she didn't have enough time to get out of the way as what appeared to be the glass tube that Doctor Wyre used to store her blood came down on her._

 _CRASH!_

"Oh my gosh-OWWW!" Circuit yelled as she sprang back into reality. However, as she woke up, she sprang upwards, and that made a horrific pain run through her back. She placed her hand on her back and rubbed it a little, "My back hurts..."

Ratchet, who nearly had a heart attack when Circuit woke up, placed a hand on his chest and tried to control his breathing again. He looked at Circuit, "Of course your back hurts, we just spent the last few hours drilling and putting things into it. Also: what the heck? What happened in there that made you spring up like that? You scared the crap out of me!"

"I am sorry for frightening you. I uh...I think that I had one of those dreams where you get a big jump scare at the end and it makes you-wait! You drilled into me?!" Circuit looked up at Al, "You said that you only used the drill to scare customers!"

"Yeah, I kind of lied about that so you wouldn't get more freaked out."

The little robot sighed and kept rubbing her back, "What exactly did you do? It hurts so bad that I wish that they had pain medication for robots..."

"Check your systems," Ratchet said, tapping Circuit on the head. "You should find something new in there."

"Hm?" Circuit took a quick look through her systems and saw that there was something new in there. There was now an 'Upgrades' option filed in her. When she opened it, it only showed two options: 'Robo-Wings' and 'Encyclopedia'. "My two upgrades are now filed in my systems."

"Yep. Give the Robo-Wings a try so we can make sure that we put them in right," the Lombax said.

Circuit nodded and went back into her systems, selection the Robo-Wing upgrade. When she did that, she was started by a very strange feeling in her back. She looked over her shoulder and watched as two thin rectangular slots opened up in her metal skin. Then she stared in awe as her very own set of purple Robo-Wings shot out from the slots. They were exactly like Clank's...only purple...and they were amazing. So amazing that she tried flapping them so she could start flying already. However, it was proving to be harder than she had expected. She could lift her wings a few inches, and they were shaking badly. A nervous look formed on Ratchet's face.

"U-Uh, Circuit? Maybe you should wait until your body adapts to your wings-"

"Nonsense, these things should be ready to go!" Al said, approving of Circuit's attempts to fly already. "She's a robot, flying should be a natural instinct to her. She'll be fine!"

The cyborg patted Circuit on the back a little too roughly, making the small robot's wings react, and they launched her upwards. Circuit screamed as she flew upwards as crashed into the ceiling (which made Al and Ratchet flinch). Once her wings settled down, she started falling towards the ground, but she didn't reach the floor because, luckily, Ratchet quickly caught her. Circuit shook her head, several spots of her face covered in the dirt and muck from the unclean ceiling.

"Oww..." She said, wiping away the small tears forming in her eyes. Then she looked up at Ratchet with an innocent look, thinking that she was in trouble for using her wings. However, she was surprised when Ratchet looked at Al with an angry expression.

"Ready to go, huh? She could've been seriously hurt, Al!" He then took a quick look at Circuit, "Wait you're not seriously hurt, are you?"

"No, there was no serious major done, but it still really hurts..."

Ratchet sighed in relief, "That's good. N-Not the 'it hurts' part, I'm talking about the fact that there was no major damage done."

"Hey, for the record, I didn't know that her wings were going to be so sensitive to sudden movements," Al argued as Ratchet put Circuit back on the table.

"Whatever. I'm taking away your tip, though. Accident or not," the Lombax said, Circuit sharing his expression and nodding in agreement.

"Fine, I can accept that. Now let's just take our focus off of the wings so we can see how the other upgrade is working."

"Yeah, alright. Circuit, can you try out that other upgrade that we installed?"

"Yes I can," Circuit replied, trying to get all of the dirt off of her face. She looked into her systems and pulled up the encyclopedia upgrade. She thought that the only thing that would happen was an encyclopedia of weapons would appear in her vision.

She was wrong...very wrong.

Instead of a weapon encyclopedia showing up before her, the chip activated and a light blue yet see through cylinder formed around Circuit, shocking all both Ratchet and Al. The little robot noticed how the blue color matched the color that she was in spirit form while she was at the Great Clock. It looked like that Al was right, the chip really did fuse with her Zoni powers. But...what exactly was she supposed to do with this strange light cylinder? There was nothing happening within it. What did the encyclopedia want her to do...?

Circuit perked up and looked at Ratchet, "Ratchet, can I see one of those weapons that I accidentally upgraded earlier?"

Ratchet's ears twitched with curiosity, but he nodded, "Yeah, sure."

The Lombax went and retrieved a Combustor that was lying in a box and brought it to the robot. She told him to hold it out in front of him and he did. Then she went back into her systems and used her visual optics to scan the Combustor and hoped that her idea enough. A smile formed on her face when the gun's data immediately went into the encyclopedia. Now came what she knew would be the hard part. She brought up the cylinder light again and expected a new option to be there. Sure enough, a word was now engraved into the light, and it read 'weapons'. She poked the word with her finger and pulled out the picture of the Combustor. Circuit then took a deep breath as she held out her hands. She didn't exactly know why she was holding her arms and hands out, it just felt like...instinct. Yeah, that was it, it was instinct. And her instinct was telling her to hold out her arms and focus her energy onto the chosen weapon. Circuit pushed some of her energy towards the picture of the Combustor, wondering if this whole crazy thing would work or not.

"Huh?" Ratchet said quietly as the gun in his hand was now glowing. Then his ears perked up when he realized what Circuit was doing. Sure enough, when the glow faded away, in the Lombax's hand laid a Combustor V.2. He nodded, impressed, and looked at his daughter, "Wow, nice job, Circuit. That upgrade really did help...Circuit? Hey, are you alright?"

Circuit was on her hands and knees, gasping even though she didn't need to breathe. She looked up at Ratchet was a slightly happy, innocent face, "Oh, yes, I-I am okay. I just should have thought twice before using a large portion of my energy right after being reactivation. But at least we know that the upgrade works now, right?"

"Yep, everything seems to be working fine," Al said, folding his arms. "Now then, Ratchet, I'll need my for the service that I provided."

"Yeah, yeah, here's your fee," Ratchet said, placing his bolt payment in Al's hands. He then picked Circuit up and began walking out of the shop. "Thanks again, Al! I'm still pissed about you making Circuit fly into the ceiling, though!"

"N-No! It is alright, Mr. Al! I should have listened to Ratchet about not using the wings right away!" Circuit quickly said, not wanting Al to feel bad about what he did.

"You can be way too forgiving sometimes," the Lombax said as they exited the Robo Shack and headed towards the ship.

"Oh...um...sorry?"

"You also apologize way too much."

"I am sorry about that...oh! I-I mean...um...s-sorry-wait! I...I am...sorry but, I uh...wait, I did not mean...I-I...sorry-"

"Alright, alright, calm down before you hurt yourself. I was joking about you apologizing too much."

"Oh, well I did not quite get it when you told the joke...I am sorry-"

Ratchet pulled Circuit into hug, which surprised her a little. He smiled and laughed a little, "You're too polite for this universe, Circuit."

"Um...is that a good thing...or a bad thing?"

"It's a good thing. It's a very good thing. There aren't many robots out there who are like you. Most of the robots that I've met have to kill me, though it'll take more than a robotic commando to get rid of this Lombax. Anyhow, violence aside, I-huh?" Ratchet looked down as he felt Circuit trying to release herself from his hug.

"Daddy, though I love nothing more than I hug from you, I am afraid that I am going to have to ask you to please let go. My back is still hurting, and your hugging is making it hurt even more."

"Oh! Sorry! You could have just said 'let me go' or something like that so I could have gotten the point faster," the Lombax said, loosening his grip on the robot.

"But that just saying 'let me go' would be rude. And I do not like being rude."

"Yeah, I know that. So your back is still hurting, huh? I'll have ya settle down and rest when we get home."

"That sounds nice. I do not wanting this pain spreading. It is only a matter of time before I get a horrible headache. And that is one thing that I do not want...to...?" Circuit looked up at Ratchet when she felt him tense up in the middle of her sentence. Her eyes went wide when she saw a frightened and shocked expression on the Lombax's face. She was about to ask if he was alright when she realized what the problem was. She said that she might get a horrible headache from the pain of getting her upgrades installed, and a horrible headache was something that she had before...before she died from the Hexzar Virus. And remembering that was no doubt the last thing that Ratchet wanted to do. So Circuit quickly blurted out, "Oh my gosh! Daddy, I am so sorry for saying that! I should have watched what I said! I do not want you to remember that day, and I am sorry if I just triggered that memory-"

Ratchet placed his hand on Circuit's face, making her stop talking. He simply stood there for a few silent moments, Circuit looking at him with a very concerned face. The Lombax sighed and looked at the small robot, attempting a smile, "It's alright, Circuit. I know that you weren't trying to connect a headache to...to that day." Ratchet paused before walking over to the Aphelion and setting Circuit down in the wing. He took a deep breath before looking the robot in her violet eyes. "Look, Circuit, we need to start learning to...to forget about what happened one year ago. What happened was, thankfully, undone, so there's no reason to visit that horrid memory anymore. We need to stop focusing on the bad of the past and try to make a great of a future. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Uh-huh," Circuit said innocently, though her face made it look like that she was in trouble.

"Good. Now get into the ship so we can go home. After getting into two fights and watching my daughter crash into a ceiling, I could really use some coffee and a nice chair to sit down and relax in."

 **Later that evening...**

Circuit stood several inches away from the mirror, both of her hands lying flat on the reflective surface. She knew that Ratchet had told her not to think about it, and to not listen to the director, but she just couldn't get the fact out of her head. No matter how much she tried to forget what that jerky director said, his insult still made it through her body and pierced her heart: she looked like a male.

The little robot sighed as her palms slid off of the mirror and down to her sides. Circuit didn't like the way that she was so offended by what just one person said. But she just couldn't help but have slight chest pains when she heard that director's voice echoing through her metal head.

 _"Your daughter looks like a dude!"_

Circuit placed her forehead on the mirror and sighed once again. Then she looked at her reflection, which only contained a purple eyed Clank. A purple eyed robot who looked like a boy. Sometimes being a clone of a male was hard...

 _"Circuit, you focus on the flaws that you believe you have."_

The female robot's eyes went wide as Clank's words rang through her head.

 _"You, Circuit, are a sweet girl with talents that are beyond incredible."_

She...she was a sweet girl...not a just a sweet robot...but a sweet girl. And her flaws...she was doing exactly that Clank didn't want her to do! Circuit was focusing on the flaws that she believed that she had! And that flaw was not looking like a female! Clank's words turned into inspiration, and it began coursing through Circuit's systems. She was a girl, and no one was going to tell her different. However, there were still some issues with her appearance, but that was no matter. Actually...she might be able to help herself with that. Maybe it was about time that Circuit changed up her outfit a little bit to make her appear more...feminine. And all she needed was a needle, thread, and black and purple fabric.

* * *

 **Circuit has her Robo-Wings! And, according to the text, they're absolutely amazing! And, in case you're wondering why Circuit had her Wings installed in her back instead of her arms, it's because I thought that having them fold out of the back would look better on her. She would look like a cute little fairy or something like that.**

 **And, by the sound of it, Circuit is going to make herself a new outfit! What I have planned for her is so adorable, you guys are going to love it!**

 **Also, the Weekly Oneshot was posted yesterday in case any of you guys missed it! It's called "A Lombax's Christmas Tree", and it's about a seven-year-old Ratchet looking forward to his mentor, Grimroth, finally buying and putting up the Christmas tree. However, turns out that they couldn't afford one that year. It's a really nice oneshot and I think that y'all should check it out.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus signing off!**


	14. Chapter 14

Circuit went out into the living room and prepared to ask Ratchet if he had any spare fabric material lying around. However, the Lombax did not appear to be present. When they had gotten back from Al's, Ratchet had planted himself on the couch, and Circuit thought that he would be sitting there all night. But it looked like that she was wrong because he was nowhere in the living room...or the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom for that matter. But the robot had one last conclusion on where the Lombax was when she couldn't find him inside the apartment. Circuit quickly went over to the garage entrance and entered, and she found herself being surrounded by disassembled weapons and engine parts. The place was a real mess and it needed to be tidied up bad. That would explain why Ratchet was currently sitting on top of Aphelion and attempting to put a weapon back together so he could store it as a whole. But he had a lot of work to do because there were several piles of weapon parts sitting in front of him, which made Circuit want to help him with the chore. But she knew nothing about weapon assembly, so she would be of no use.

Circuit walked up to Aphelion and looked up at the Lombax, who didn't seem to notice her yet, "Hello, Ratchet."

Ratchet, after jumping a tiny bit, looked down at the small robot and then continued to put the weapon together. "Oh, hey, Circuit. What are you doin' in here?"

"Well, I was wondering if you had any fabric that I could use."

"Fabric? What do you need that for?" The Lombax asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um...I uh..." Circuit tried to find an excuse for why she needed the materials. She couldn't tell Ratchet why she really needed it, because she was afraid that he would reject the idea because he had told her to ignore what the director said. So she winged it and said: "I am concerned that...my creative skills are too limited, and I want to expand beyond just drawing with a pencil. Plus, I have not done anything artistic since I came back to life and I do not wish to get rusty."

"Hm...I guess that's pretty understandable. And it would be cool to see what you can do besides pencil drawings," Ratchet pointed to the workbench near one of the garage's walls, "There's a box of spare fabrics under the workbench. I've barely used any of them, so there are mostly full sheets in there. They're all yours."

"Thank you, Ratchet!" Circuit ran over to the workbench and pulled out the box that Ratchet had pointed to. She popped the lid off and peeked inside, but she had to stand on the tips of her feet in order to do it. Her eyes brightened when she saw a variety of colored fabrics, but her gaze was immediately brought to two large sheets of black and purple fabric. She nodded to herself and put the top back in the box and then began pushing it out of the garage. But before she went out the door, she looked over her shoulder and at Ratchet. "Oh, it is starting to get late, Ratchet. So perhaps you should finish what you can and retire to the apartment for the night. I do not want you overworking yourself while you clean up the garage."

"Alright, I will-wait..." Ratchet looked up from the weapon and at Circuit. "Do you want me to finish soon because you don't want me to work too hard, or do you want me to come in soon so I can be there to tuck you in in when it's time for you to go to bed?"

"Uh, n-no, I do not want you to get too tired," Circuit said, putting her hands behind her back and looking off in a different direction in order to avoid eye contact.

"You don't want me to stop so I can tuck you in?"

"No."

"Are you lying in order to avoid looking like a burden?"

"Yes."

"...Not gonna lie, I didn't think that you would tell the truth so quickly, so points for honesty. I'll be in there by ten, alright?"

"Okay," Circuit replied with a nod, and then she pushed the fabric box and herself out of the the garage, leaving Ratchet by himself.

Ratchet stayed still for a few minutes, his ears standing up on end as he listened for nearby sounds. When he confirmed that Circuit was staying in the apartment and not coming back to the garage, the Lombax reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The call was still going on, so she heard everything. He took a deep breath and put the phone up to one of his giant ears.

"So where were we?"

"You were going to tuck your little girl in, 'daddy'," Sasha's voice said.

"Oh god you really did hear everything. I meant besides that!"

After taking a short time to laugh at Ratchet's reaction, the Cazar continued, "We were talking about Circuit coming to stay here at the Phoenix for a while."

"Ah ah ah, Circuit and me. I'll be going with her."

"Honestly Ratchet, you can leave Circuit here with me."

"HAHA-no. If I leave her with you, then she'll spend a lot more time with you, until, eventually, she takes after you. And I kinda don't want that."

"Oh yeah, like Circuit taking after you would be better," Sasha said with a hint of anger.

"I was kidding! Geez. But I'm serious, I don't think that separating Circuit and me would be the best idea. It's not that I don't trust you to look after her. I just don't think that she'll be comfortable being separated from me after such a short time. It's just...too soon, you know?" Ratchet said, his voice becoming quite as he got to the end of his sentence.

Sasha stayed silent for a moment before sighing, "Alright, I get your point. You can stay in your old quarters with Circuit for a few days."

"Great, we'll leave tomorrow morning. I won't bother to knock."

"I know you won't. Also, make sure that Circuit is careful with those wings that you got her. Don't let her use them until her body adapts to them or she'll end up hurting herself."

"Ugh, you worry too much! I won't let anything bad happen to Circuit, you should know that by now."

"Yeah, yeah I know that. Though you're a crazy, trigger happy Lombax, you do make a good dad. Keep it up and I may have a little bit of respect for you."

"Oh boy, I can't wait to have your respect," Ratchet said with a sarcastic tone. "Anyway, I really gotta get off. This garage is a big freaking mess and it ain't gettin' any cleaner."

"Alright, I'll see you and Circuit tomorrow. Bye."

Ratchet put his phone down as Sasha hung up, the Lombax placing his back in the Aphelion's windshield. He placed a hand on his chest and grabbed his shirt as he began taking deep breaths. Keep it together, Ratchet, he thought, you tried it and it didn't work, so move on already. Shaking his own voice out of his head, Ratchet began picking up the weapon pieces in front of him and reassembling them. There were quite a few weapons around the garage and that made the place look like a real mess. And it would take much longer to clean without Clank around to help him, and Circuit was busy playing with the fabric box, so she couldn't help. The Lombax sighed again, but then he perked up. He had fought through Galactic Ranger training and various life-or-death situations, he could handle cleaning up a garage. Honestly, how long would it take?

 **Three hours later**

Ratchet moaned dramatically as he picked up the damaged Walloper and began unscrewing several parts of it. Three hours. Three long, boring, cleaning filled hours that had the Lombax wondering what he was doing with his life several times. That may sound a little extreme, but he really hated cleaning by himself. It felt like that he had been sitting in that garage for a lifetime. So much so that he had even forgotten that someone was currently living with...living with him in...the apartment...wait a minute...

Ratchet quickly pulled out his phone and looked at the time. It was 10:37 PM, signifying that it was thirty seven minutes past Circuit's bedtime. And he never came in to tuck her in. "Oh crap! Circuit!"

The Lombax launched himself from his position on Aphelion and rushed into the apartment, nearly tripping on several objects as he did. How could he have been so forgetful? What kind of father was he? Hoping that she was still awake, Ratchet slowed down to a quiet walk and went up to Circuit's bedroom door. He took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob and opened the door ever so carefully. He peeked inside the room, praying that Circuit would be on the floor using the fabrics that he had given her. However, a sad look came onto his face and his ears lowered when he saw the small robot asleep in her bed. He was too late.

With a heavy heart, Ratchet entered the room and went over to the bedside and knelt down. Circuit was sound asleep with Little Ratchey in her arms and, by the sound of the tiny mumbles coming out of her slightly open mouth, she was dreaming. Or at least starting to. Ratchet sighed and placed a hand on the side of her head, which made her twitch a tiny bit.

"I'm sorry, Circuit..." He said quietly, his ears lowering a little lower. He sighed and said before he stood up, "It's kind of too late to say this but...goodnight, sweetheart."

After that, Ratchet left the room, closing the door quietly so he didn't disturb the robot's slumber. He folded his arms and felt one hundred percent disappointed in himself. He lied to Circuit. Who knew what the poor robot felt when she stood there waiting for her father to arrive so he could say goodnight to her. Ratchet had only become a father again for several days and he was already screwing up. He hoped that Circuit wasn't too upset about it. And he also hoped that he wouldn't screw up again. He was getting a second chance at being a dad and he really needed to straighten up for the sake of his daughter.

The Lombax sighed and decided that he himself should go to bed. So he went inside the garage, put away everything including disassembled weapons and retired to his bedroom. Meanwhile, in the bedroom next to his, Circuit's dream was starting to take affect. The little robot squirmed a little as it started.

 _Circuit sat on her knees as a pure white room formed around her. She looked around with a bit of curiosity. Where had she ended up this time? Usually she would be in a dimly lit room with a weird checkered floor or something like that, but this was definitely different. So she did the first thing that she always did when she ended up in a new place, and that was look around for signs of life or objects or something that seemed out of place with the room. So her head did a full 360 as she scanned the contents of the room. When her search was 95% complete, she stopped when she ended up looking to her left. There was a lifeform standing twenty feet away from her. It was orange and had pointy ears, and she could take a good guess on who the lifeform was. Ratchet's smiling face looked at her, and he waved at her. The little robot giggled a little as she stood up and jumped up and down a little._

 _"Daddy!"_

 _"Come on over here, Circuit! Come on, you can trust me!"_

 _The little robot nodded and began running towards the Lombax, preparing to jump into his arms and hug him. However, her footsteps had other, scarier plans for the situation. As she ran, Circuit could help but notice that she was leaving behind black footprints. Thinking that it was just how the room worked, she just kept on running. But turned out that she was very, very wrong. When she got within ten feet of Ratchet's position, the black footprints suddenly shot forward, forming black streaks across the floor. Circuit stopped in her tracks as the streaks passed by her and started making their way towards Ratchet. The little robot jumped and yelled:_

 _"D-Daddy! Watch out, there is bad stuff coming!"_

 _Don't worry about it, you can trust me," Ratchet said, his voice suddenly becoming extremely low and static filled. The black streaks stopped at Ratchet's feet and then began climbing his body. And, as that happened, he began to grow. Until, eventually, the Lombax became a giant, pitch black monster. His colorful features were not just outlined in white, and he looked directly down at her. "I would never hurt you...would I?"_

 _"I...I do not...daddy? Wh-what are you...?" Circuit stammered, horrified. Instead of receiving an answer to her incomplete question, the robot's eyes went wide as the Monster Ratchet raised his hand and gave her an unsettling mean look. Then he quickly brought his hand down upon her. "DADDY! NO! AHHHH-"_

"AH!" Circuit gasped more than yelled as she was forced out of her dream, which had turned into a nightmare. She quickly sat up and looked around, taking a quick moment to confirm that she was back in reality. After a few seconds, Circuit placed a hand on her chest and gave out a large, relieved sigh. It was only a nightmare...a bad and horrifying nightmare.

As if by instinct, Circuit grabbed Little Ratchey and got down off the bed, rushing over to the bedroom door. However she stopped herself before she could even open the door when she remembered what the nightmare had been about. Ratchet...or rather a monster version of Ratchet...attacked her, and possibly tried to kill her. What in the world was her mind trying to do with that thought? She knew for a fact that Ratchet would never harm her because he loved her, and she loved him. So what was that nightmare about? Maybe...maybe it was because Ratchet forgot to come in and tuck her in, she must have been upset about that. And when Monster Ratchet meant by 'hurt her', he must have meant hurt her feelings. But Circuit wasn't terribly upset about the Lombax forgetting to say goodnight to her, he was hard at work cleaning the garage. But her mind must have been on another level of upset, and it showed that to her via her dreams. Still, it could have toned it down a little bit because...that...that was really horrifying. So much so that Circuit found herself exiting her bedroom and making her way down the hallway to Ratchet's room. She just needed to see him, and then she'll calm down.

Circuit opened the door to Ratchet's room ever so slightly and she peeked inside. The Lombax was still up, sitting on his bed, and he was now wearing a white t-shirt with light blue boxer shorts, and wearing that meant that he was about to go to sleep. The little robot absentmindedly stroked the door as she thought about what to do. She really wanted to be with Ratchet tonight, because that nightmare had shaken her up beyond the comfort of Little Ratchey. However, she didn't want to disturb him either. She knew that Ratchet liked having his peaceful nights of sleep. So, she sat there and pondered her options. Will she sleep in her own room and cope with her nightmare herself, or will she intrude on Ratchet's sleeping time by telling him everything? However, before she could make a decision, the sound of the Lombax's voice startled her.

"Circuit?" Ratchet asked quietly. Circuit had forgotten the amount of light that her eyes were giving off in the darkness, and she quickly stepped behind the door. However, a few seconds later, Ratchet opened the door and located her quickly. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Well, yes...I should be, b-but..." she trembled a little bit as she hugged herself. Her voice broke. "I...I had a nightmare. A really bad one..."

"A really bad one? Aw...come here."

Ratchet picked Circuit up and carried her over to his bed. He was actually prepared for this situation. Circuit had had a lot of nightmares when he first had her, but, to be honest, he didn't think that they would start up again this soon. The Lombax absolutely hated it when she had nightmares, it always made him feel so depressed. Circuit was the very last person who deserved to have a nightmare. He sat down on the bed and had Circuit sit in his lap. She looked up at him with large, innocent eyes. But the innocence was accompanied by fear. He placed a hand on her head, "Come on, tell me what happened."

"Um, well...you see uh..." Circuit tried to start telling him, but what would he think of her for dreaming such a terrible thing? He might not ever forgive her! What if he got so mad that he disowned her or something? She might be overreacting a bit, but Circuit was prone to that. So she prepared to say something about the nightmare when Ratchet's hand suddenly went onto her forehead.

"Circuit, you're starting to overheat. You might need a coolant injection if it gets too serious," Ratchet said, sounding very concerned.

"S-Sorry, I will try to calm down," Circuit said with her eyes screwed shut, embarrassed about the overheating. After a few moments, her temperature dropped a few degrees, but she still very extremely warm.

"You're still pretty warm. Did the nightmare shake you up that much? Because this has never happened before."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it did...very badly," the robot said, now hugging herself and tears started forming in her eyes, "Very badly i-indeed."

"Aw, Circuit, don't cry. Whatever you were dreaming is gone now; it's not there anymore. So there's no need to worry about it. But...if you're that uncomfortable talking about it...I won't make you tell me what happened."

"Really?" Circuit asked, surprised that Ratchet wasn't all over the nightmare's story.

"Yeah, really. As long as it'll make you feel better."

Circuit nodded her head, deciding not to tell Ratchet about the dream. She thought that it would be best if he didn't know, because he might be offended by it. Though, there was something that she wanted to ask. "Daddy? You...you would never hurt me...right?"

"Hurt you? Of course not! Why would I ever do that?" Ratchet asked, very caught off by the question. He wasn't lying about his answer either, he would never dream of hurting his little girl. He wondered where that question suddenly came from. But he had a slight idea. "This isn't about me forgetting to tuck you in, right? Of, and I'm really sorry about that. I kinda got held up cleaning the garage and I lost track of time."

"Oh, it is quite alright, daddy. I was probably asking a bit much of you to stop what you were doing just so I could get a goodnight."

Ratchet sighed, "You really are too forgiving. You weren't asking a lot, Circuit, I was the one who screwed up. So you can be mad at me, really."

Circuit quickly shook her head, "Uh-uh! I love my daddy too much in order to be mad at him! Even if he ever does hurt me, I would not be-"

Ratchet cut Circuit off by pulling her into a hug. His teeth were clenched a tiny bit due to the end of the robot's almost unfinished sentence. "Circuit, I'm never going to hurt you. You love me too much to be mad at me and I love you too much to hurt you. The day that I harm my little girl is the day that the universe learns to save itself from villains." The two sat there for a few few minutes, saying absolutely nothing. Circuit had her face buried in the Lombax's shirt like always and she pondered what Ratchet had said to her. He would never hurt her...he would never hurt his little girl. The nightmare was wrong, but the fear still ran through the robot's oil filled veins. Ratchet must have noticed because he looked down at her and gave her a sympathetic smile. "If you're still scared, you can stay in here if you want."

"U-Uh, I do not think so. I do not want to be a burden or anything like that-ah!"

Ratchet lifted Circuit into the air and shook his head, "Still think that you're a burden, huh? Well I'm gonna tell ya this, burdens can't be adorable, and, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but you're pretty damn adorable!"

Circuit blushed a little as she giggled; she always tended to do that when someone called her cute or adorable. Ratchet lowered her onto his lap and waited for her to make her decision on where she was going to sleep tonight. After staring at the Lombax for a few seconds, the little robot grabbed Little Ratchey and crawled over to Ratchet's pillow, where she comfortably laid down. "I think that I will sleep right here."

"Uh yeah, nice try," Ratchet said, pushing her to the side. Then he laid down on the pillow and let out a great big yawn as Circuit snuggled her stuffed animal. It had been awhile since he had Circuit with him in his bed. The last time it happened was one year ago at Apogee Space Station, only she was scared about discovering her weapon upgrading power. But, even when he had only known her for less than two weeks, he was willing to comfort the robot by letting her sleep in his bed. And here they were now, doing the same thing again one year later. As Ratchet thought back to the past, he suddenly remembered something, and he looked at Circuit, who was fairly tired. "Oh, by the way, we're going to be leaving tomorrow morning. We're gonna stay at the Starship Phoenix for a few days. You'll get to see Sasha."

"Mommy? I get to see mommy?" Circuit asked, suddenly excited.

"Yeah, but we have to get up kind of early tomorrow, so we need to sleep now. Sasha can be kind of strict when it comes to scheduling, and she wants us there by lunch time."

"Oh, okay," the robot said with a nod. Then she smiled, "I cannot wait to see mommy, again! Though I did see her this morning..."

"Alright, settle down there. You've had kind of a long day, so start charging your battery now. Your systems probably still needs time to get used to the new updates, too."

"Okay. Goodnight, daddy," she said, hugging Little Ratchey and began shutting down.

Ratchet nodded and placed a hand on the side of her head, "Goodnight, sweetheart."

When Circuit shut herself down and went to sleep, Ratchet looked at her with a bit of pity. She loved him too much to be mad at him...that just didn't sit right with him. Maybe she would learn to become angry as she got older. But, for now, Ratchet would have to deal with his overly forgiving daughter who was having thoughts about him harming her. Parenthood could be difficult sometimes.

* * *

 **Looks like Ratchet is struggling with his fatherly duties, and being a mature adult with a child is proving to be a bit difficult for him. Will he cope with his parental responsibilities or will he screw up again? I guess we'll find out.**

 **And what was Circuit's nightmare all about? Was it just her being upset about Ratchet not keeping his promise of tucking her in, or was it something more significant? Again, I guess we'll find out.**

 **And I got this chapter up three days late...sh*t.**

 **Yeah, sorry about the really late updates. My schedule has been out of whack lately, but hopefully I'll get it back on track soon.**

 **Also oh my god next chapter is going to be painful to write. You guys are gonna hate me once you read it. Why? Oh-ho, you'll see why.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey," a voice said when something started poking Circuit on the head. The little robot moaned as she stirred. Then she opened her eyes slightly and saw a blurry image of Ratchet. He out of bed and dressed, meaning that he had been up for awhile. Circuit must have really been asleep to not notice him leaving the bed and exiting the room. He poked her a few more times so he could get a decent amount of her attention, "Come on, wake up. We're gonna be leaving soon."

"Mehh, five more minutes," the robot said, burying her face into the mattress.

"Don't make me force you to get up," Ratchet said with a sigh.

"You cannot make me get up, not this time," Circuit said tiredly, her voice muffled by the mattress.

"I'll tickle you."

"I can take it."

"I'll hold you out the window."

"You will not drop me."

"...I'll eat the sandwich that I made you."

"Good morning, daddy!" Circuit said cheerfully as she sprung up and threw herself into the surprised Ratchet's arms. She then got down onto the ground and hurried out of the room so she could eat her waiting breakfast.

Ratchet shook his head and smiled. Then he placed a hand on his head as he stood, "I've got to remember that one."

The Lombax went over to the closet and pulled out a suitcase and started packing. Though he really didn't need much because the Starship Phoenix was a paradise to him. VR training courses, a variety of weapon selection, a video game system with all six Qwark comics, he loved that ship. Though he usually told Sasha that he liked the Phoenix because of its sturdy structure and string titanium alloy so he didn't sound immature. But it sort of worked out for him now that he had Circuit, because she could be immature for him. Though he shouldn't really be saying that about the robot, because she could be really, really deep sometimes. Like when she fought Klunk one year ago.

Ratchet packed a few clothes, emergency tools (he took tools everywhere), and a few other things and closed up the suitcase. He carried the case over his shoulder and went into the living room. He passed by Circuit, who was finishing up her breakfast, and patted her on the head.

"Hey, when you're done, go and pack whatever you need to bring to the Phoenix, okay?"

"Okay," Circuit replied with a nod and bit into her sandwich again.

Ratchet nodded back and went into the garage, where he entered Aphelion and turned the ship on. He put his luggage into the cargo hold, including his Omniwrench that he retrieved from his workbench. But, when he was grabbing the weapon, something caught his eye. There was a sketchbook tucked away in the back. Before, he thought that it was just a random sketchpad that he used to draw his never-to-be-built weapons and never bothered to look inside of it. But...now the book looked really familiar. He grabbed it and opened it up. A wave of nostalgia hit him hard when the first thing he saw was a fantastic drawing of Aphelion. And on the other page were drawings of his Omniwrench. This was Circuit's sketchbook. He had nearly forgotten how well that robot could draw (very, very well). He put the sketchbook in with his luggage and was about to go out and ask Circuit if she was done packing when a knock came to the apartment door. Ratchet's ears twitched and he went out into apartment when another knock was heard. Who in the world would be so eager to get into his house this early in the morning?

"Hellooooo? Ratchet? Clank? Your heroic idol is at the door!"

"Oh no," Ratchet said as his ears lowered. What was _he_ doing here? The Lombax sighed as he opened the door, "What is it, Qwark?"

"Morning, Ratchet. I thought that I'd drop by to see how my favorite sidekicks are doing!" Qwark said as he squeezed through the door frame.

"We're doing fine. I'm getting ready to leave actually," Ratchet said, placing his hands in his waist. "So maybe you should drop by another time."

"Nonsense! I've still got time."

Qwark strolled over to the middle of the living room and looked around the place as Ratchet rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen so he could pack a small snack or two for when he leave for the Phoenix. But, as he was distracted, Circuit came out of her room, her chest compartment packed with what she was taking with her on the trip. She looked into the living room and quickly saw a strange man standing there. She let out a tiny yelp and quickly hid in the doorway. But she didn't escape the sight of Qwark, who went over to her.

"Ah, Clank! There you are!" The captain scooped Circuit up in his arm, making the small robot squirm with discomfort. Qwark looked at her funny, "Say, you look different. Did you get a haircut?"

Ratchet rushed over to him when Circuit gave Qwark a confused look, "Qwark, that's not Clank! That is not Clank!"

"Not Clank?! This is an impostor! Alright mister! Who are you, and who are you working for?" Qwark asked as he held Circuit by the hood. Circuit squirmed even more, and she even made little whining sounds.

"No, she's not an impostor, I know this robot," the Lombax said as he yanked Circuit out of his grip.

"You gotta speak better, Ratchet. For a moment there I thought you said 'she'."

"Um...I did. Qwark, this is Circuit. She's uh...she's my kid," Ratchet said, pointing to Circuit. She fixed her messed up hood and then grabbed Ratchet's shoulders, wanting Qwark to go away.

Qwark gasped, "Your kid?! Why didn't you tell me that you had a child?"

"Well, I really didn't-"

"Oh I get it, you didn't want me to know about her because she's so weird lookin'."

"Wh-What?"

"Yeah, look at her. That is the weirdest looking Lombax child that I've ever seen. She almost looks like a robot!" Qwark said, pointing to several parts of a now offended Circuit.

"She _is_ a robot, Qwark!" Ratchet yelled, starting to get very angry.

The captain scratched his head in confusion. "Wait...then how is she your kid? She's not a Lombax."

Ratchet facepalmed as he became frustrated, "I adopted her!"

"Ohhhh, alright. Adopting an orphan robot is always a good thing. Did I ever tell you the story of how I saved a bus full of orphans from the tentacle monster of the Obani Moons?"

"Yes," the Lombax replied, rolling his eyes impatiently.

"Well let me tell it to you anyway. It all started when I was doing a grog run for the fellas when suddenly a huge tentacle monster-"

"Look Qwark, we really need to get going. Don't you have things to do?"

"Ah, yes! Now that you mention it, I am fighting quite the case of hunger. I think that I'll fight it off with the breakfast menu at Galaxy Burger." Qwark went to the entrance of the apartment and squeezed through the door frame once more. He waved as he closed the door. "Have a Qwarktastic trip with your weird robot child!"

And with that, Qwark left as quickly as he came, leaving Ratchet and Circuit by themselves again. Ratchet sighed and shook his head. Qwark was really, really stupid sometimes. He looked down at Circuit and saw that she looked pretty upset. She looked at him with sad and innocent eyes.

"Daddy, is what he said true? I cannot be your daughter because I am not a Lombax?"

"No, that's not true at all. Qwark says dumb things...probably because he is dumb. So just learn to ignore him. I learned to do it...mostly."

"I do not like that man. He seems like that he is full of himself...and dimwitted. And for some odd reason, I found his presence to be annoying."

"Yep, Qwark was wrong. Only my kid could see how annoying he is at a such a young age," Ratchet said, placing his hand on Circuit's head. "Now come on, we've gotta leave for the Phoenix."

"Alrigh-" Circuit paused to release a tiny burp. She covered her mouth as her face turned red. "Hehe, excuse me."

"Gross," The Lombax said with a smile on his face. "Gross but cute."

Circuit giggled and she put her head on Ratchet's chest. The Lombax then began walking off to the garage, where they would set course and start heading towards the Starship Phoenix. And Ratchet never mentioned to Circuit exactly how foul her little burped smelled (he didn't want to make her feel bad).

 **Starship Phoenix**

Circuit stood up and placed her hands on the windshield as the Starship Phoenix came into view. She hadn't been there for a few days. But somehow...it felt like that she hadn't been there for weeks. And though she saw Sasha the previous day, it felt like an eternity. And that just made Circuit want to see her Cazar mother even more. And Sasha must have felt the same way about her robot daughter, because Circuit spotted her walking out into the bay as Ratchet brought the Aphelion in for a landing. When they finally did land, Circuit tried to get out, but the cockpit wasn't opening. She looked at Ratchet.

"The cockpit isn't opening!"

"Huh, would ya look at that, it's not. I must have forgotten how to open it," Ratchet replied, resting on the steering wheel while trying to hide a smile.

"Ratchet, you let her out right now!" Sasha yelled, which made the Lombax's ears twitch. He sighed and opened the cockpit.

"Man, she never lets me have any fun."

Circuit scurried out of the ship and slid down onto the wing. She then tried to scoot down to Sasha, who was waiting for her next to the ship, but she stumbled and fell off the side. Luckily Sasha was there to catch her before she could hit the ground and get hurt. The Cazar sighed in relief and hugged the small robot. Circuit giggled and placed her head on Sasha's chest.

"You've gotta be careful, Circuit. You nearly hit the floor," Sasha said, placing her hand on the back of Circuit's head.

"Sorry," Circuit replied, looking up at the Cazar. "I just got a little excited."

"Heh, you're as impatient as your father."

"I'm right here, ya know," Ratchet said, leaning up against the ship with his arms folded.

"Yes, I see that," the Cazar said while rolling her eyes. "So, there's been no problems ever since you've been introduced back into fatherhood?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Have I been a problem to you, Circuit?"

"Uh-uh! I love my daddy!" The little robot said happily.

"There ya have it," Ratchet said, pointing his hand towards Circuit. But his face suddenly became a little angry looking. "Though Qwark decided to pay a visit this morning, and he met Circuit for the first time."

"Oh no," Sasha said, placing her hand on her forehead. "Circuit, did he say anything disturbing to you? Maybe about something called a machine called a 'Crotchitizer'?"

"No...wait, what is a Crotchitizer?" Circuit asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Ratchet said, his ears lowering a bit.

"So he didn't say anything bad or something weird?" Sasha asked.

"Well...there was one thing. He said that I cannot be Ratchet's daughter because I am not a Lombax...wait," Circuit looked up at Sasha with worried eyes. "Does that also mean that I cannot be your daughter because I am not a Cazar?"

"What? No, sweetheart, that's not true. You are my daughter, no matter what species you are. Don't listen to what Captain Qwark says, he's an idiot."

"That is basically what daddy told me," the robot said, pointing to Ratchet.

The Lombax shrugged, "It's the truth, you said it yourself that he's an idiot."

Sasha smiled and shook her head. Then she put Circuit into Ratchet's arms, "Alright, 'daddy', show Circuit to your quarters and get unpacked. I'll be at the bridge checking our current position."

"Alright then. We'll be there soon."

Ratchet and Circuit grabbed all of the luggage from Aphelion and took it to their room, which Ratchet recognized quickly. He tried to tell Circuit about he and Clank stayed there when they were dealing with the Dr. Nefarious and Biobliterator ordeal nine years ago, but then he remembered that he didn't want to remind her about Nefarious or the Biobliterator. It would most likely bring back bad memories for both him and her. So he simply told her that he used to sleep in that room a few years ago. Circuit then told him that she played some of the Qwark Vid-Comics while she was staying at the Phoenix a few days earlier, she also told him about how she kicked Nefarious's butt. Ratchet laughed and told Circuit that the next time they played the Vid-Comic, they would beat down Nefarious together and set a new time record.

Ratchet started putting his shirts in a dresser drawer when Circuit peeked at something inside of her chest compartment. It was nearly done...and she wanted to try it as soon as possible. But there was one thing that kept ringing through her head.

"Wait...then how is she your kid? She's not a Lombax."

Circuit's eyes narrowed sadly as she recalled what Qwark said. She couldn't help but be bothered by that. She seemed to be bothered by what everyone said to her nowadays, and it was a bit annoying. However, she wasn't letting any problems go unsolved. She was going to do something about all of it. But she would have to do a few things so she could finally overcome the hurtful things that the director and Captain Qwark said to her. So she looked over her shoulder at Ratchet, who was distracted by putting his stuff away.

"Hey, Ratchet?"

"Yeah?"

"I uh...I need to take care of a few things in my quarters. I should not take that long."

"Alright, go ahead. I'll be a few minutes anyway. I think that I brought a little too much."

Circuit nodded and then she escaped into her room, which looked a lot similar to Ratchet's. She reached up and locked the door so her father couldn't come in and surprise her or anything. The robot then pulled out the fabrics from yesterday. Her project was nearly complete. She just had to add a few stitches here and there and the basic form of it will be finished. And she thought of it as the basic form because there were a few extras parts that she had to add. Good thing that she brought extra fabric and thread. It was time to go to work.

 _Fifteen minutes later..._

After a few more minutes of extra sewing, Circuit was finally done with her project. She hoped that it would fit properly. So she threw the fabrics on accordingly and moved around a bit. It felt comfortable, and the material was light but somewhat warm. Wanting to know how it looked, Circuit looked at herself in the nearby mirror. It didn't look like that her artistic skills were becoming rusty at all.

The outfit that she was wearing consisted of her Q-Force jacket, which she had extended with black fabric so it was long like her old jacket. But the new things were standing out more than her now longer jacket. Under the jacket was a purple t-shirt that she made, and it ended perfectly at the bottom of her torso, but it didn't cover a certain part that she really wanted to be covered. That was why she was wearing a short black skirt that covered down to just below her knees. She hoped that Ratchet wouldn't mind the skirt because she thought that he would prefer her wearing regular pants. But she thought that the skirt was more appropriate for her gender.

Circuit observed herself once more. She had to admit, she looked sort of...adorable. So much so that she wanted to show Ratchet and Sasha very badly. So she straightened everything out and ran out of the room, not even bothering to admire the extra parts that she had added to her outfit.

The newly dressed robot ran out of her room and out into Ratchet's, where the Lombax was sitting on his bed looking at some sort of circular device. Circuit took a nice, deep, non-air filled breath. It was time to see what he thought. So, with a bit of nervousness, the little robot walked over to Ratchet, who looked up from the strange device he was holding. It took him a moment to notice the sudden new appearance of his daughter. But once he finally processed it, his eyes went wide and he nearly dropped the small thing in his hands.

"...Whoa." Was all Ratchet could say.

"It is quite a sudden change of appearance, I know, but...what do you think?" Circuit asked, putting her hands behind her back.

"What do I think? Circuit, you look...awesome!" Ratchet picked Circuit up and placed her on the bed next to him. He grabbed part of her now extended jacket and observed it. "This is what you needed the fabrics for. You wanted to make a new outfit for yourself."

"Yes, that was the case. I am sorry that I lied to you. I did not think that you would approve of the idea of me making a more...feminine outfit."

"No, no, it's fine. But this looks amazing, Circuit! Your creative skills aren't getting rusty, that's for sure. Your hood actually looks like your old one now...huh?" Ratchet look confused as he saw something hanging off of Circuit hood. He took a closer look and noticed that it was a weird looking triangle with purple stripes...

Ratchet grabbed Circuit's hood and slowly pulled it over her head, the strange things hanging on her hood standing up as he got it on all the way. His eyes went wide when he saw what the things were: Lombax ears. They were fabric made, black Lombax ears with three purple stripes that were the same shape and length as his own ears. Circuit blushed a little as she reached behind her and pulled something from her backside to the front. It was a small Lombax tail, black with purple stripes. It was attached to the back of her jacket. She gave Ratchet and innocent look.

"I may not be a Lombax...but at least I look like one...sort of."

Ratchet smiled and pulled Circuit into a hug, "You look awesome. Nice ears, by the way." Circuit giggled. She was really glad that Ratchet liked her outfit (she was also really glad that he wasn't getting in her case about the sort of short skirt). But, when she sunk down into the Lombax's lap, she found herself looking at the strange device in Ratchet's hand. It was brown and rusty, it looked old. Ratchet noticed the robot looking at it, and his ears twitched. "Oh! Here, check this out."

Ratchet opened the device and showed Circuit that it was actually a pocket watch, but it was broken. The glass in front of the gears was cracked badly. However, Circuit's attention wasn't on the broken gears, she was mostly paying attention to the picture on the opposite side of the watch. She saw two Lombaxes, one white with red stripes and the other orange with brownish stripes, like Ratchet. The orange Lombax actually looked a lot like Ratchet, she wondered if he was Ratchet's older brother or something. Either that, or it could be...

"Is...is that your dad?" Circuit asked, pointing at the orange Lombax in the picture.

"Yeah, it is," Ratchet said, nodding. Then he let out a breathy laugh, "I guess to you, he would be 'grandpa'."

"I guess so," the little robot said. Her eyes drifted off of her 'grandfather' and her gaze went towards the white furred Lombax. He seemed to have a buffer structure than Ratchet's father, and he was holding quite a peculiar Omniwrench. Yet, as she looked at the white Lombax, she felt herself becoming...unsettled. Something just didn't sit right with this person. But why would she feel this way? It was not like he had done anything to her or anyone else...

Ratchet noticed her staring at the other Lombax. He pointed at the picture, "Oh that's Alister Azimuth. He was a Lombax general, and my dad's best friend."

Circuit's eyes went wide as Ratchet said the white Lombax's name. Alister Azimuth...why did that name sound so familiar?

 _Clank nodded again, though he knew that Circuit definitely wasn't prepared for what he had to tell her. Still, he took a deep, non-air filled breath, and then spoke: "Several years ago, Ratchet and I were at the Great Clock with another Lombax named Alister Azimuth. Alister's goal was to use the clock as a time machine so he could bring the Lombax race back. However, he did not realize that the clock was not a time machine, it was only mean to keep time, not alter it. But he refused to listen to us. He kept relying on Ratchet to be on his side and not mine. However, when Ratchet finally accepted the fate of the Lombaxes and refused to use the clock, Alister grew very, very furious. And, as Ratchet prepared to walk me inside the Orvus Chamber, Alister accused Ratchet of treason. Then, in a fit of rage and fury, Alister..." Clank paused, trying to make his way through the hard part of the story. "Alister released an electrified pule from his weapon and it hit Ratchet in the chest. The impact stopped his heart...and Ratchet fell off the platform and into the void of space...dead."_

Circuit's eyes narrowed in an angry position. This Lombax was the same Lombax who murdered Ratchet at the Great Clock! Alister was a cold blooded killer! She knew that she was supposed to restrain herself when it came to knowing Clank's secret at the Great Clock, but she couldn't help it. That jerk had killed her father and traumatized Clank, he was a horrible person! She pointed at the picture, "I know who he is! He is a very terrible man! I hate him!"

Circuit lightly punched the picture (she didn't want to damage the watch any further). Ratchet's heart nearly stopped when she did that. His eyes went wide and his teeth angrily clenched together. The blood in his veins were pumping wildly and his heart was now racking. Next thing he knew, he was raising his hand and swinging it across.

 _Smack!_

Ratchet smacked Circuit, sending her down onto the floor. His hand hurt from hitting the metal skin, and that pain pulled him out of his angry trance. He noticed his outstretched arm and hand. He also noticed the trembling purple eyed piece of metal on the floor. His eyes went wide again, realizing what he had just done.

Ratchet just hit Circuit.

* * *

 **Um...I ummm...I was uh...uhhhh...s-so how about Circuit's new outfit, huh?**

 **Seriously though, I love the outfit I made for Circuit. A purple shirt with a shortish black skirt, and a long black Q-Force/Lombax hoodie, how cute is that?! I was thinking about adding black boots, but her feet are too adorable to cover up.**

 **Next chapter: Circuit, while trying to cope with the fact that Ratchet struck her for the first time, will attempt to use her Robo-Wings in the Q-Force VR Holodeck! Will she be able to take flight, or will she end up getting into another accident like at Al's? Find out next chapter (whenever I find the time to write it)!**

 **Also: Circuit burping...just imagine it. It would be the cutest burp ever.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	16. Chapter 16

Time itself seemed to have frozen around the Phoenix as stillness came upon the Lombax and small robot. Ratchet had just hit Circuit. What in the universe did he think he was doing? What made him commit such a violent act? Maybe it had something to do with what she had said about Alister. She said that Alister was a terrible person, and her saying that must have triggered a nerve somewhere inside Ratchet. And he no doubt snapped when she had actually punched the picture. It had just made him so furious that he couldn't contain himself. But that was no excuse for what he just did.

Ratchet looked down at Circuit, who was on her knees and trembling like she was in an earthquake. It was a fairly sad sight to see her so scared. She stood up and held the side of her face, tears beginning to flood her eyes. Ratchet shook his head and attempted to talk to her in the calmest voice possible.

"Circuit, I-I didn't mean to..." He stepped forward and reached a hand out to the little robot, but she took a few frightened steps backwards. The Lombax waved his hand and shook his head, "No no no no, Circuit, I really didn't mean to-wait! Circuit, I-"

Circuit turned around and bolted out of the room, stumbling a little and making small whining noises as she opened and closed the door. Ratchet was now all by himself. He did not change his position because he was too busy realizing how bad this all was. He struck Circuit...after he promised her that he would never hurt her. He couldn't begin to think about what the robot thought of him now. But that look she gave him after it happened...he actually recognized that expression. It was the same one that she had when he and Clank first found her: a mixture of sadness, confusion, and pure fear. And she was now wearing that expression because of what he did, and he would never forgive himself, nor Circuit.

Ratchet placed his back on the wall and slid down it, the life in his green eyes draining as he pondered the now new future. Circuit would most likely hate him now, which was completely understandable. Sasha would no doubt have his head for what he did (Circuit was probably on her way to tell the Cazar at that very moment). And Clank would throttle him for hitting his girlfriend..or best friend, he had yet to figure out what was really going on between those two. Anyhow, no matter how he looked at it, he knew that his future would be full of hatred and disgust because of what he did to Circuit. And, Ratchet had to admit, he deserved it. Circuit, a sweet and caring nine-year-old robot, was the very last person in the universe who deserved to be smacked. But Ratchet did it anyway, and all because Circuit accidentally touched a bad nerve of his. That was enough to convince the Lombax of one thing: he was a bad father.

Ratchet sighed and put his forehead on his knees. There was only one bright side to this: Circuit finally learned how to be mad at him.

* * *

Circuit tripped and stumbled through the the short hallway that led to the bedroom. She hit the wall several times and nearly fell over when she accidentally stepped on her jacket cape. She then ran through the hangar and eventually stopped at a Gadgetron Vendor near the wall, sitting (well, more like falling) behind it and curling up into a small trembling ball. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her face and onto the floor. It...it happened so quick. One moment she and Ratchet were looking at the pocketwatch, the next Ratchet was smacking her across the face. The force of the smack had been so hard that it had actually knocked her down onto the floor, which only added to the pain.

The small robot lowered her hood so it covered her eyes. Why did she have to let out her anger towards that Alister Azimuth Lombax right in front of Ratchet? Why did she have to punch the picture? She just couldn't keep the hatred inside, she wanted to show her feelings towards the person who had once killed Ratchet. But look at where that got her. The moment that she had landed on the ground, the moment that it had happened, a large amount of fear coursed through her mechanical veins. The smack itself was scary yes, and it did hurt, but the fact that it was Ratchet was what frightened her so much. She trusted the Lombax, she loved him like a father, and then he went and did that to her...Circuit wasn't exactly sure what to think of Ratchet anymore. She didn't hate him, but she just...didn't want to be near him anymore, or at least for now.

But now was the time to ask the real question: was she going to tell Sasha about this? After running out of the room, Circuit's first idea was to run to Sasha and tell her what happened, but she found herself randomly changing course to a hiding spot instead. Maybe...maybe that was her brain telling her that going to Sasha wouldn't be a good idea. If she told Sasha what Ratchet did to her, then she would hate him for sure, and she didn't want her mother and father to end up arguing and hating each other, that was actually the last thing that she wanted. No, she would have to keep this to herself, and she hoped that Ratchet would keep this to himself. So that was the plan: don't tell Sasha about the...events of that night, and hope that Ratchet did the same. But, now there was one thing left to think about...what was she going to do now? She couldn't go to Sasha because she couldn't control her crying, and that would concern the Cazar, and she couldn't go back to Ratchet because...well, that was self-explanatory. So what should she do?

"You gotta stop using all of your ammo on the VR dummies, Trigger," said a strange robotic voice. "You're gonna go broke if you keep spending all of your bolts on ammo!"

"What? I like the way that they explode. Also those things are always scary looking. Half the time, I think about running away from them like Jet!" Replied a similar voice, most likely Trigger.

"Hey! I do not run away, I...I-I retreat!" Another voice, presumably Jet, said. "At least I don't spaz out like Spark!"

"Be quiet!" Spark most likely replied.

Circuit curled up into an even tighter ball as three robots walked up to the vendor that she was hiding behind. One of them, probably Trigger, bought some ammo for the Blaster that was located within his arm. Circuit held her hoodie tight as Trigger wrapped up with the vendor, but her heart leapt when one of them said, "Hey, what's that?" She curled up into as tight of a ball as her body would let her, praying that she wouldn't be seen, but it was too late. Three faceless robots were looking down at her from the other side of the vendor. One looked at the other two, "When did we get a cat?"

"H-Huh?" Circuit said in confusion as she looked over her shoulder, a few stray tears running down her face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Spark asked.

"You must have offended her when you called her a cat!" The third robot said, nudging Trigger.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Trigger said in a panicky voice, flinging his arms up and accidentally hitting the third robot.

"OW! Hey, watch it!" The third robot said smacking Trigger in the head.

"HEY! That's it!" Trigger pointed his gun at the robot (he had his gun to stun though) and attempted to shoot, but nothing came out. Confused, he looked inside of his arm to see what the problem was, but he was met with a cloud of smoke, which covered his whole head with filth.

Circuit, who had been watching them this whole time, smiled a little when Trigger was blasted by the smoke cloud. Smiling soon turned into something else. "Hehehehehehe!" The three Rangers stopped their little squabble to look at the little giggling robot. Her face turned a little red when she saw them looking at her, "S-Sorry, I could not help myself."

"Hey, wait a minute, I know you," Spark said. "Yeah, you're sergeant's little backpack friend!"

"Backpack friend? What are you...oh! Oh, no, you are mistaken. I am not Clank, I just look like him. My name is Circuit," Circuit said happily, pointing to herself.

"Oh...well I'm Spark, this is Trigger, and over there's Jet."

"Those are some interesting names," the little robot said.

"They're not our actual names, they're nicknames!" Jet said. "I'm called Jet because I tend to...run away from situations as uh...as fast as a jet."

"And I'm called Spark because a bunch of sparks fly out of me when I'm stressed. It sounds bad but it's super cool to watch," Spark said.

"I'm called Trigger because I keep pulling the trigger whenever I see something scary lookin'," Trigger said as he rubbed the back of his head. But then he motioned his hand towards Circuit, "Anyhow, enough about us. Where did your name come from?"

"Mine?" Circuit said, placing a hand on her torso. "O-Oh, Ratchet named me Circuit because of the broken circuit boards he had to fix when he was repairing me. I was pretty busted up when he and Clank found me, but do not worry, I am all better!"

"N'awww, she's so freaking cute! Can we keep her?" Jet asked Trigger, who gave him what appeared to be a disapproving look.

"Hehehehe!" The little robot giggled as she blushed and shuffled her feet cutely. She then waved to the three, "Anyway, I should let you three get back to your training. I do not wish to take up any more of your time."

"Yeah, we were just about to go to target practice," Trigger said. Then he got an idea. "Hey, you wanna come with us?"

"Huh?" Circuit said with a confused look. This was sort of an interesting situation for her. No one had ever asked her to go and do something with them (besides Ratchet and Clank, of course, but this was different). Usually, Circuit's nerves would knot up and cause her to back down from doing anything with someone that she didn't know, but this time her nerves seemed to be taking it easy on her. Actually, her fear of strangers seemed to have been dying down ever since she left the Great Clock. She had warmed up to Sasha very quickly, two days in fact, despite not knowing who the Cazar was when she met her in the hospital wing. Perhaps she was learning to be more trusting, and that she shouldn't assume that all people that she didn't know were bad. Besides, Ratchet and Clank used to be strangers to her, and look at the relationship that she had with them now. So, after swallowing any fear or nervousness that she had for these three soldiers, Circuit looked up at the three and nodded, "U-Umm...I guess that I can go with you guys. As long as Sasha knows where I am and who I am with."

"I can take care of that," Spark said, already creating a message for his captain. After several silent moments, he sent the message and nodded. "That should do it. Now let's get to the shooting range before all the good weapons are taken. I don't wanna get stuck with the Pyrocitor again. We have yet to remove the burn mark on the wall..."

* * *

Ratchet lied motionlessly on his bed, his tail hanging lazily off the side and his ears sagging downwards and barely touching the comforter. His body and limbs were sprawled out on the bed, looking like that no life had ever possessed them. As for the Lombax's face, it was lodged within the nearly suffocating confines of his pillow. Every so often, he would turn his head ever so slightly so one eye peeked out at the door and attempted to locate any sort of signal that Circuit was there. Whether it be the door being slightly ajar or a shadow underneath it. But he saw no such sign. So now he was just lying on his bed lazily, waiting for Sasha to come and chew him out for what he did.

Sure enough, as if on cue, the door to the room suddenly opened and in walked Sasha. Ratchet went pale and a sweatdrop ran invisibly under his fur. He could feel his heart beating against his ribs as he thought about what she was about to say to him. So, overcome by stress and nervousness, Ratchet shot up and looked Sasha in the eyes.

"L-Look, I know what I did was wrong! I shouldn't have done it, and I mean really shouldn't have done it, and I'm really, really sorry! I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just want you to know that I-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, Ratchet, calm down!" Sasha said, putting a hand up and looking a bit freaked out. "I know that I wanted you to come and see me when you were done unpacking, but you don't need to freak out because you didn't."

"W-Wait, what?" Ratchet said somewhat quietly, trying not to make his eyebrow raising obvious. Sasha wasn't yelling at him about smacking Circuit, so that must meant that...that Circuit didn't or had yet to tell her. He looked behind the Cazar and out into the hallway, then back at Sasha. "Uhh...where's Circuit?"

"Oh, she's with some of the soldiers. Isn't that nice? She's making friends."

"Whoa, really?" Ratchet's ears actually perked up at this news. This was certainly a change in pace for Circuit, mostly because she was one of the most anti-social robots Ratchet knew. This was a big step for her...and he wasn't there to see it. Still, he tried to look happy as Sasha waited for a further reaction. "That's really great for her, she really needed to make more friends. She doesn't really have anyone outside you, me and Clank."

"Yeah. It's kinda weird, I've only known Circuit for a few days and I can already see that she's growing up."

Ratchet suddenly felt a slight pain in his chest when he heard those words. This was certainly new to him, and strange as well. He guessed that it was some sort of parent thing and how they don't like to hear that their kids are growing up. But he shouldn't be too worried about Circuit becoming older, because she said it herself that she would be his little girl forever. She's a robot, Ratchet told himself, age doesn't matter. And making friends wasn't really a sign that she was growing up, people could make friends when they were babies. He had nothing to worry about. So he shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Sure, growing up's nice. But what's important is that she's becoming more social."

"Heh, sounds like there's a certain idea of what I said that you don't like. What? Is your little girl growing up too fast for your liking."

Ratchet shot her a look, "You tell me, she's your kid too."

"True, but I haven't known her for as long as you have, daddy."

The Lombax growled to himself, then he shook his head again. "Whatever. Look, let's just leave the topic of Circuit alone and head to the bridge. What were you doing there all this time, anyway?"

"Eh, nothing much. I was watching a documentary about Zordoom Prison," Sasha said, leaving the bedroom with Ratchet.

"Oh god, don't remind me about that place," Ratchet said, recalling a certain time when he and Clank helped Talwyn breakout of the same prison. They were swarmed with so many robot guards, it was ridiculous. They had barely made it out alive.

"You know that place has a new owner, right?

"Oh yeah, I think I heard about that. What was his name again? Luke...Lucas...and then his last name."

"It's Lucius Dukes," Sasha said, rolling her eyes. "It must be exciting for him. He's the first cyborg to ever own the prison, so he's already in the history books. And the fact that his facility is keeping the scum of the universe away from civilization must be satisfying to him."

"Geez, why don't you marry the guy already?" Ratchet said in a sarcastic voice, earning him a smack upside the head. And upon being smacked, the memory of Circuit suddenly came back to him. He looked over his shoulder and down the wide hallway to see if he could catch any sign of her, but it was just him and Sasha. He sighed to himself, wondering if she was alright. He also wanted to see her bad so he could thank her for not telling Sasha about what he did to her. That robot really was too kind for this universe. But there was a silver lining in all of this: because Circuit hated Ratchet now, she could spend the majority of the time making new friends. Sure, they're trained commandos who go on dangerous missions, but he was sure that they were keeping her safe.

* * *

 _BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Circuit flinched with every gunshot, but it was hardly due to fear, it was more of a natural reaction, like how organic blink when someone pretend to throw a punch at them.

Spark was who Circuit was with at the moment, standing by his legs as he shot a Combustor at a target hanging a few feet away. Circuit had nearly forgotten the variety of weapons that there were in the universe. There ones that shot fire, ice, electricity, little robots, plasma, magma, bombs, sonic waves, nets, missiles, rockets, and even pixels. But the standard weapon was the Combustor because it was simple and easy to shoot, making for an ideal target practice weapon. But Spark was still having a bit of trouble aiming his. His shot would always land far right, left, up, or down from the target, never in the middle. So Circuit was trying her best to offer some sort of help instead of just standing there and saying nothing.

"U-Umm, maybe a few inches to the left...okay, that did not work, so maybe a little more to the right...no, that did not work either, try a little downwards and to the left...n-no, it still missed..."

After a few minutes, Circuit thought that she was just becoming annoying, so she apologized to Spark and promised to shut herself up. But Spark said that she really was helping, and that her directions got him closer to the target than he could on his own. Of course, being complimented made Circuit's face go read and she pulled her hood over eyes in order to hide it. She then yelped when Spark grabbed hold of the back of her jacket, and she quickly grabbed the front part of her skirt and held it down as she was dropped onto Spark's shoulders.

"There," Spark said, putting his hand back on his gun. "Can you still help me line up my shot?"

Circuit was confused at first, but then she realized what Spark meant. By being on his shoulders, she was at a much better vantage point, and she could see the target at the same level as Spark. So she crossed her legs and kept one hand on the shoulder and the other on Spark's head. As of now, Spark was holding his Combustor too far right of the target, she could see that now. So Circuit pointed that the center of the target.

"I see the problem, now. You are too far right, so move it to the left...a little more...right there!"

"Alright, tell me when to shoot."

"Hold on, lower your gun by about 1.265 centimeters. When you shoot, the gun will jerk upwards, making the shot go upwards. Most people are not aware of that fact." Spark did as she said and lowered his Combustor by the 1.265 centimeters. Circuit nodded, that should about do it. After making sure that the shot was lined up right, she threw her hand forward, "Fire!"

When Spark shot the gun, his body jerked, making Circuit nearly tumble off of him. But, luckily, she managed so grab hold on his metal casing and climb back onto his shoulders. Spark looked at her.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just kind of slipped-oh, look! You hit the center of the target!"

"W-Wait, I did?" Spark looked at the target and saw a bullet hole in the middle. "Yes! Finally! Thanks for your help, Circe."

"U-Um, actually, Spark, sir, my name is Circuit, not Circe," Circuit said, recalling another soldier once calling her 'Circe'.

"Oh...well, we'll call you Circe for short." Circuit was tempted to point out the fact that both 'Circuit' and 'Circe' were two syllables, so 'Circe' wouldn't be shorter, but she decided not to. If the soldiers wanted to call her Circe, then she should let them. Spark suddenly grabbed her jacket and put her back down on the floor, then, to Circuit's surprise, he dropped the Combustor into her hands. "Here, you can try to hit the target, too."

"You mean shoot the target with...with this gun?" Circuit asked quietly, looking at the weapon. The shiny metal surface reflected off of her glowing purple eyes, and a frown came onto her face. She slowly moved her right hand over to the handle and slipped her finger over the trigger. When she did, her trigger finger began to tremble, and a memory suddenly flashed by her eyes. A shooting range...blaster in her hands...target practice robot...Nefarious hologram-

"AHH!" Circuit quickly dropped the Combustor and took a few steps back, placing both her hands on her chest. It took a few gasping moments to realize that Spark was looking down at her with, what she guessed to be, a confused and surprised face. She shook her head and gripped her hoodie nervously. "I...I am sorry, Mr. Spark. I am just...not comfortable with guns. I do not like firing them myself."

"Oh..so what weapons are you good with? Can you think of anything that you could use on a target?" Spark asked.

"Um..." Circuit thought to herself for a moment before a certain type of weapon came into her mind. "I am kind of decent with a blade. Do you have anything like that?"

"Hmm...we do have target practice with throwing knives, but isn't that a bit too primitive for you?"

"No no no, that sounds perfect! May I try it?"

"Sure, why not? Hey! Trigger! Jet! Help me set up the knife throwing practice!"

 _Several minutes later..._

Circuit, with the help of Trigger, got up on top of a tall stool and stood, six knives in her right hand. In front of her were three round targets with only a couple slits in them, signifying that not many people had landed their knives in the target. She couldn't really blame them, landing a knife perfectly was hard.

The small robot looked over her shoulder, and a few soldiers were standing behind her, waiting for her to make her move. No doubt they were excited to see this little girl, who they believed to be a master at using blades (Spark may have exaggerated when he told them), to begin showing off her skills. So, deciding not to stall any longer, Circuit picked a knife from the bunch in her hand. It was a simple knife with a silver blade and black handle, and it almost slid around in her hand. But it stood in place once she kept a grip on it. Though she shouldn't be holding it in her hand, but between her two fingers. After adjusting the knife's position, Circuit looked at the targets in front of her. She would go for the left, then the right, then the middle, just to put on an interesting performance for the soldiers. She kept her grip on the knife, held it up and aimed it at the left target, practiced her wrist movement for a moment, and then...

 _WHOOSH!_

 _KLINK!_

The knife's handle had bounced off of the target and onto the floor. Circuit sighed, and then became alarmed when she heard some of the soldiers whispering things behind her. No doubt they were talking bad about her already. So, wanting them to stop, Circuit grabbed another knife and tried again. Practicing her wrist movement and throwing it.

 _WHOOSH!_

 _KLINK!_

Another miss.

Circuit was a little tinge in her chest as she missed the target completely. This wasn't right, people were supposed to get better when they practiced, not worse. At least...that was what Ratchet taught her. But now she was starting to doubt what the Lombax had said, and the thought of Ratchet made a certain horrible memory begin to show its face. Shaking her head, Circuit grabbed the third knife and looked over her shoulder. Several of the soldiers had gone back to their own target practice, but a good portion remained, including Spark, Jet, and Trigger. If she missed this, she would no doubt lose the crowd, and everyone would think little of her, and she didn't want that. It was all up to this knife. Third time's the charm right? So Circuit aimed it again and threw it.

 _WHOOSH!_

...

...

...

 _KLINK!_

Circuit's shoulders dropped as the knife soared across the room and landed on the floor. She hesitated, but then she looked behind her to see the soldier's reactions. Her prediction was right, most of them were about walking away. The feeling in Circuit's chest grew, making a certain feeling rise into her. She looked at the three scattered knives with disapproval. Stupid knives, because of them, everyone was going to look down on her now because she had to miss three times in a row. Circuit's grip on the knives grew tighter, her heart began pulsing faster as the footsteps of the soldiers grew louder. Next thing she knew, she was loading up a knife into her hand.

 _WHOOSH! CHINK!_

The left target was hit.

 _WHOOSH! CHINK!_

The right target was hit.

 _WHOOSH CHINK!_

The middle target was hit.

All three targets were pierced with a knife, directly in the middle as well. The soldiers behind her, the ones walking away, and the ones that were currently shooting froze. Circuit took a moment to collect herself as her heart slowed back down, then she saw what she had done. She then noticed all of the soldiers were staring at her in what appeared to be awe. She had to explain herself to them. So, she turned around to face the crowd, placed her hands behind her back, and said-

"There we go! I just had to warm up first!"

None of the soldiers said anything for a few moments. Circuit soon had a slightly sad expression on her face as the silence continued, but she perked up when Trigger suddenly stepped forward. "Circe...that was _awesome_!"

The soldiers that were in the shooting range then broke the silence by cheering for the little robot. Circuit took a moment to comprehend what they were doing, but when she did, her face turned red and she giggled a little. This was certainly a lot more fun than she had thought of it to be. If only Ratchet had been here to see-

Pushing the Lombax out of her thoughts, Circuit enjoyed the praise that she received from her...friends? Friends. Circuit had friends who weren't Ratchet, Clank or Sasha. And she had to admit, it was really nice. And what made it special to her was that she made them all by herself.

 _Later that night..._

After an evening of target practice with the soldiers, Circuit decided that it was about time to get ready for bed. So she said goodnight to Spark, Jet, and Trigger, and everyone else who was in the shooting range. She found her way back to the large hangar where Aphelion was parked and began heading back to the place where she had unpacked all of her stuff. But something made her stop dead once she got within ten feet of the door. She checked the clock, and it read 9:45 PM, meaning that Ratchet was probably in his bedroom, which was connected to her bedroom. A horrible feeling emerged from her stomach as she thought about the idea of interacting with the Lombax right now, which she didn't like. Was this because of what Ratchet did to her earlier? Maybe...maybe it wasn't as bad as she remembered...

 _Circuit lightly punched the picture (she didn't want to damage the watch any further). Ratchet's heart nearly stopped when she did that. His eyes went wide and his teeth angrily clenched together. The blood in his veins were pumping wildly and his heart was now racking. Next thing he knew, he was raising his hand and swinging it across._

 _Smack!_

 _Ratchet smacked Circuit, sending her down onto the floor._

Circuit stumbled backwards but managed to keep her balance. She wiped her eyes and shook her head several times. A horrible chill went up her spine and she hugged herself for a few moments. Bad idea...going in there was a bad idea. She would have to work something else out. Then, after several moments of consideration, she decided not to see Ratchet, and that she would sleep somewhere else. But where would she sleep? Certainly Sasha was already in bed, so that idea was out. So where could she...!

The little robot perked up as she spotted Aphelion, completely deserted. Circuit took a moment to get all of her bad thoughts and fear out of her system, then she walked over to Aphelion, struggling to climb up onto the wing. But she managed to get up on it and she lifted up the glass protecting the cockpit, and then crawled into said cockpit. She climbed to the passenger seat in fear that she would kick the steering wheel and steer Aphelion into the wall or something. So she curled up in the passenger seat, taking off her jacket and using it as a blanket. She began to review what had happened today, but she stopped after reviewing Ratchet. It was certainly a difficult situation for her. She didn't hate Ratchet, but what he did to her was...very bad, but yet she believed that she deserved, but her nerves kept her away from Ratchet. She didn't know what to do. Maybe a good night's sleep will help her mind.

So, with a jacket as a blanket and no stuffed animal to hug, Circuit powered down in the seat of the Aphelion.

* * *

 **Uh-oh, things are starting to look bad! Has the family bond between Ratchet and Circuit been broken?**

 **I know that Circuit didn't use her wings in this chapter like I said, but I kinda shifted some things around and it just made more sense if the events of flying practice happened next chapter. So yeah, next chapter she'll be using her wings.**

 **Also, Circuit finally made some friends! Spark, Trigger and Jet are just some names that I made up for them, because in Up Your Arsenal the soldiers that weird number names. So I thought that just giving them names would be easier to remember.**

 **And for those of you waiting for Clank to reappear, you're in luck because he will actually be showing up in Chapter 18. So not next chapter, but the chapter after it.**

 **Oh, and in case you don't know, I have started posting art on Deviantart! My username is Amberdiamondswords (lol, duh), and I have two pictures up. One of Clank and Circuit an done of Circuit as a Lombax. Plus I'm letting people send in questions that they want to ask Circuit, so if you have a question for her, reply to the journal on my profile.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	17. Chapter 17

Circuit rolled onto her back lazily as the morning hours came onto the Starship Phoenix. She yawned loudly and stretched, making her jacket/blanket nearly slip off of her. It wasn't exactly the best night of sleep that she ever had, most likely because she was huddled in a tough leather passenger seat of a spaceship. But she couldn't really complain too much; at least the seat was big enough that she could stretch out in it. That was something to be grateful for. However, the seat was still small enough for accidentally rolling off of the side and into the space below the dashboard, which she did. Circuit sighed as she scrambled back up to the seat and put her jacket back on. Then she peeked out the windshield to see if anyone was outside, but all she saw was an empty hangar, so the coast was clear.

 _Rumble..._

Circuit placed a hand on her chest compartment. She was hungry. The last time she ate was yesterday morning, and that's not good for a robot's health. So, now motivated by hunger, Circuit climbed out of Aphelion and dropped down to the ground. Sasha had shown her where the cafeteria was, so she should remember which way to go. Another rumble of her stomach made her hope that they were still serving breakfast.

* * *

Ratchet sat by himself at an empty cafeteria table, a cup of coffee in one hand, a newspaper in the other. Every now and again he would looked up from the paper and search through the cafeteria from his position to see if Circuit was there. He was pretty worried about her. She didn't even come to her room last night; though it was most likely because she had to go through his room in order to get to hers. He thought that she had gone to sleep in Sasha's room, but Sasha told him this morning that she hadn't seen Circuit since they arrived at the Phoenix. This situation alarmed Ratchet greatly, of course, because Circuit had already gone missing once in her lifetime, he didn't need her disappearing again.

When he saw no sign of Circuit, he sighed and went back to his paper. He was reading more on the new owner of Zordoom Prison, Lucius Dukes, and how he and his top team just captured yet another most wanted crook. It was amazing his fast these people worked ever since Dukes took over. They were apprehending people faster than the Q-Force could, and catching bad guys was their job. It just showed that sometimes it take a change in leader to make a place better. Ratchet wondered how much he would make if he took a job there...!

Ratchet's large ears twitched as he detected the sound of little metallic footsteps. He looked over his newspaper and over at the cafeteria entrance to see if his prediction of who it was was correct. Sure enough, a pair of large, violet eyes walked in and looked around the place. Ratchet sighed in relief, she was alright. It was a good thing, too. He was about ready to storm over to a group of soldiers and asked what they did with her. However, he was curious about where Circuit had come from. She came from the left of the hallway, and to the left was his room, the Gadgetron vendor, the VR room and the...the hangar! That was it! She must have slept in Aphelion last night. Ratchet was happy to have finally figured where she was last night, but soon he became sad due to the fact that, because he hit her, Circuit had slept in a cold hangar alone inside of a ship. And, since he had found Little Ratchey lying on her bed last night, she had been completely by herself with nothing to hug in her sleep. The Lombax's ears lowered, feeling worse than ever.

Circuit was still at the front of the fairly small cafeteria, most likely looking for someone to sit with. When she looked over Ratchet's way, the Lombax quickly hid behind his newspaper and flattened his ears against his head. Circuit would probably leave if she saw that he was there, and he knew that she needed to eat something. Suddenly, even though they were flat against his head, Ratchet's ears twitched once more as a voice came from the other side of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Circe! Over here!"

Circuit was alarmed when someone suddenly shouted at her, but was relieved to hear 'Circe', meaning that it could only be...

"Oh! Good morning Spark, Trigger," Circuit said as she trotted over to the two soldiers. Meanwhile, Ratchet was at the other side of the cafeteria, wondering why they were calling her 'Circe'. The little robot hopped up on a chair next to Spark, and she noticed that there a bowl of oil soup there. "Whoops, it appears someone is already sitting here. Jet, most likely."

"Mm, no, Jet's still in the bunk room," Trigger said.

"Then whose food is this?" Circuit asked, pointing at the bowl.

"It's yours," Spark said, making Circuit tilt her head a little. "We thought that it would be kind of hard for you to get your food because, a-and no offense, your kind of on the short side. So we decided to just get your soup for you so you wouldn't have to climb into the counter to get it."

"O-Oh! Thank you very much, sir," the little robot said, sitting down. "Poor Jet, though. He will miss breakfast if he does not get up soon."

"I can't wait to tell him that a nine-year-old was up before him," Trigger said.

"But don't kids always get up early?" Spark asked.

"Not me," Circuit said, drinking a bit of her soup, "I developed my daddy's habit of sleeping in."

"Daddy? I didn't know that you had a dad! Who is he?" Trigger asked, curious. Most robots don't have parents, so one's that do are considered to be very lucky.

However, when Trigger asked Circuit who her father was, she stopped eating. In fact, she seemed to have frozen up entirely. She really didn't want to bring up Ratchet in their conversation, because she knew what would happen: the soldiers would know who he is and bring him over to join the conversation, and she just...didn't want that to happen. So she just took a tiny sip of her soup and gave Trigger an innocent look, "Umm...i-it is a surprise."

"Wait a minute..." Spark said, looking at Circuit's hoodie. He picked at one of the plush ears on the hood and tapped the tail, which made Circuit's heart pulse at a fast pace. Please don't recognize the ears...please don't recognize the tail...she would take the hoodie off if she had to. But, much to her relief, Jet came running in and took the attention off of her hoodie.

"Sorry...I'm late...guys," Jet panted. "Whoo...I'm out of breath."

"But you are a robot, you do not breathe," Circuit said, trying to join the conversation so she could further the attention from her Lombax jacket.

"Right," Jet replied, pointing at the small robot and standing up straight. Then he sat down next to Trigger, "So, what are are we going to do for training today?"

"We could go back to the shooting range. I want to try out one of those new Pixelators!" Spark said.

"Actually, I was thinking that we could to the Aviator room and get some flying practice in," Trigger said.

"Flying practice...?" Circuit said quietly. That could actually be a productive practice. She had yet to use her new Robo-Wings properly, so getting some training in would help her a lot.

"You're interested, Circe? Do you have a flying upgrade?" Jet asked.

"Yeah, I just recently got it, actually," The small robot replied, reaching behind her. There was another part of her jacket that she had added to, but no had had really seen it yet, or even tried to figure out they were for. Circuit reached behind her and pulled down two silver zippers on the back of her jacket. Once they were fully open, she made she that they were located right over the almost unnoticeable slits in the back of her purple shirt. Then she activated her Robo-Wings, making four, two big and two small, purple and silver wings shoot out her back.

"Ooooh! Jet, Trigger and Spark said together in awe.

"Impressive wingspan," said Jet. "Those should be able to get you up and flying in no time!"

"They make our jetpacks look boring!" Trigger said. "It must be fun riding around with those."

"Actually, I have not really used them yet. I have been allowing my body to adjust to them before I start flying," Circuit said.

"How long have you had them?" Spark asked, observing the metal alloy the wings were made out of, which was impressing him. Circuit told him that she's had them for about two days. "Two days? Yeah, these things should be ready to go by now. You'll do awesome in the Aviator room."

"How about we head there now?" Trigger asked. "Not many people go there in the morning."

"What is the Aviator room like?" Circuit asked, finishing off her food.

"It's basically this giant, and I mean giant room that you can fly around in. Heh, I hope you're not afraid of heights, Circe!" Jet said, standing up.

Circuit felt her stomach drop and her oil attempted to come back up, but she managed to keep it down. Was the Aviator room really so big that someone with a fear of heights would be uncomfortable in it? No...no, they were surely over-exaggerating. Still, she had to tell the soldiers. So, with an innocent face and twitch of her wings, Circuit looked up at Jet and said- "Afraid of heights? Me? Do not be ridiculous! Now come on, I want to see what these wings can do!"

"Oh, well alright then, let's go," Trigger said. Spark picked up Circuit and carried her in one hand, and the four robots left the room, leaving Ratchet stunned.

The Lombax had been listening in the whole conversation, his big ears picked up their voices easily. First he had to admire the fact that Circuit actually did make friends with some of the soldiers, and he guessed that 'Circe' was some sort of nickname that they had given her. But pride was soon clouded by concern when Circuit was so hesitant when they had asked who her father was, but she seemed to have passed on answering, and Ratchet wasn't too sure about how to feel about that. Then came the shocking part: when Circuit agreed to go to the Aviator room and use her new wings. But what made Ratchet's eyes truly widened was when Circuit told her friends that she wasn't afraid of heights. He knew that this was straight up lie, Circuit was horrified of heights, and that hadn't changed. He wondered why she was suddenly getting so cocky; maybe it was because she had spent so much time with Ratchet, who tended to be a bit reckless himself. No matter what the reason, Ratchet was praying that she wouldn't hurt herself in the Aviator room. But, then again, the soldiers must know Circuit's limitations as a child, so they would probably keep an eye on her and make sure that she didn't go overboard. Yeah...everything was going to be alright, Circuit would be fine. Besides, it's just the Aviator room. What in there could be putting Circuit in danger?

* * *

"Uhh...u-uhhh-uhh...uhhhh," Circuit whimpered as she looked up in the large Aviator room. It much larger than she had ever anticipated, but that wasn't what she was stuttering about. The soldiers who were currently flying around in were nearly at the ceiling leaving a huge drop underneath them. She was certainly regretting the lie that she told her friends about not being scared of heights. Because she was one hundred percent horrified right now, and she wasn't even in the air yet. Luckily, Trigger, Spark and Jet agreed that, since it was Circuit's first time using her wings, she should fly with one of them just to be safe. But who was she going to go with? Now would be a good time to ask. She shook off her daze caused by the large room and looked at the other robots, "So who am I going with?"

"Umm, well Jet's the best flyer out of the three of us," Trigger said, nodding towards Jet. "So he'd be the one to go with if you want an easy time flying."

"Oh, okay," Circuit said, and she looked up at Jet with cute, innocent eyes. "Mr. Jet, can I fly with you, please?"

"N'awww, I can't say no to a face like that!" Jet replied, picking Circuit up. He then looked at Spark and Trigger. "You guys can go on ahead, we're gonna try and figure something out."

"Alright, see you guys up there," said Spark said, taking off with Trigger.

Circuit shifted in his hands, "So what are we going to do? I have never flown before, so I will definitely need help from you."

"Well...you'll need a decent amount of wind to help you into a glide, so...how about I hold you by your jacket hood while you keep your body in a streamlined position, and I'll let go once your wings react."

The little robot felt her stomach drop once again. Hold her by her hood...in the air...right above the giant drop of death. Why...why did she have to lie about being afraid of heights? Now she was about to be forced to start at one of her worst fears right in the face. But there was always a silver lining to every situation, right? By facing her worst fear, she would finally learn how to fly with her Robo-Wings. And that would be a way to impress Clank...

"Sounds like a good idea," Circuit replied with a thumbs up. "Let's do it!"

Jet nodded and slid Circuit into his right hand, then used his left to grab her hoodie. Circuit's wings twitched, she hoped that they were ready to go like her friends said, because once Jet lets go of her, she was on her own.

As the two prepared to take off, a fairly large group of soldiers walked into the Aviator room, some equipped with jetpacks and some not. The ones without must just be in here to watch. Circuit actually recognized some of them from the shooting range; and, by the sound of their sudden whispers and the stares she was receiving, they remember her as well. Suddenly, all of their attention was on her, and Circuit felt a non-existent sweatdrop run down her face. Great, now she was facing pressure because she apparently had to impress these soldiers now.

"Hold on!" Jet said, yanking Circuit out of her thoughts and focusing on what she must do. She quickly got her wings ready, adjusted her jacket, and held her skirt down before Jet activated his jetpack and flew up towards Jet and Trigger. Circuit couldn't help but give a yelp of surprise as she suddenly found herself being high off the ground. But Jet tugged on her hood a bit, "Alright, now straighten out your body, it'll help your wings."

"R-Right!" Circuit said, straightening out her legs and arms. She could already feel the wind underneath her four wings, and it actually felt kind of nice. But what wasn't nice was when she peeked downwards and saw the enormous drop below her. She covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. The drop looked even longer from the air, and it was absolutely horrible. She hoped the Jet would wait awhile before-

"Alright, are you ready? I'm gonna let you go now!"

"WHAT?!" Circuit tried to yell, but the word got caught in her throat by fear. No! No no no no no! He was going to let her go so soon? They just took off! What kind of flying physics was Jet going by? Oh right...physics that she had agreed to before they took off, which she was beginning for really regret.

Circuit was just about to tell Jet not to let go when he released her, and she screwed her eyes shut, waiting for herself to plummet downwards and hit the ground. Sad that she would die right after she finally made some new friends, but life could be cruel sometimes. And all she could do now was keep her eyes shut and wait for her falling demise...

...

...

...?

"Keep it up, Circe!" Spark's voice suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" Circuit said quietly as she slowly opened her eyes. She wasn't plummeting towards her death...she wasn't falling at all. Instead, she was keeping a steady pace in the air, her three soldier friends several feet above her. She...she was flying. She was actually flying all on her own! After getting all of the shock and fear out of her system, a small smile appeared on Circuit's face. So this was what flying was...it felt fantastic. But now she had to get back up to her friends, who had been joined by several other soldiers, which shouldn't take but a flap of her wings.

It was a bit difficult due to the weight of them, but Circuit managed to get a decent flap out of her wings and rose up a few feet, right up to her friends. She was amazed at how fast she learned to use her Robo-Wings, but, then again, Al said that it was in a robot's instinct to know how to use upgrades. Now she knew what he meant, though using these wings would take a little bit of getting used to. But that was alright. Clank probably had to get used to using his upgrades, too, when he got them. Speaking of Clank, Circuit hoped that he would be proud of her for learning how to fly. Just thinking about what he would say made her face go a bit red.

"You're doing good for a first timer," Spark told Circuit as she scrambled to get to a slightly higher altitude (flapping was still kind of hard for her).

"They think so too," Trigger said, pointing to the group of soldiers below, who were watching her in awe. Circuit giggled a little, and Jet motioned the others. "Come on, let's try flying formations. You can stick with me, Circe."

"Okay," Circuit said, placing a hand on Jet's arm so she could keep up.

The crowd below cheered a bit as the group of flyers went off to practice formations. They went on excitedly about how a nine-year-old girl was learning how to throw knives and fly, and about how she should join their ranks. They went on like this for a few minutes before they went on about the different flying formations that the flyers were practicing. They kept yelling out formations that they wanted to see, and the flyers followed their requests just for the fun of it. Circuit was having a lot of fun flying, and she enjoyed the cheering from the impressed crowd.

However, through all the excitement, they were unaware of the object rolling towards the front of the group. It was only when one of the front soldiers saw it and attempted to scream the name of the weapon that it exploded, causing a shockwave to run through the room. The flyers stopped, startled, in their mid air tracks and turned around so they could see what was going on. Circuit saw a bunch of smoke and several soldiers were on the ground, and she and the other soldiers had heard an explosion. What was going on down there? Who was blowing stuff up? But she soon had to stop wondering and start worrying as a Fusion Bomb flew up towards the group of flyers and detonated.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger?**

 **...**

 **...**

 **Cliffhanger.**

 **Chapter 18 should be here quickly because I know what I want to do with that chapter. So expect it either today or tomorrow night. And a fair warning, something...unexpected is going to happen to Circuit. Not gonna say what, but none of you will see it coming.**

 **Also, only thirteen reviews until this story reached one hundred reviews! Come on guys, we can do it!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Ambderdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	18. Chapter 18

Ratchet stood in the hallway, swinging his Omniwrench around lazily, bored out of his mind. He never realized how boring the Phoenix could be when you had no one to spend time with. He tried to kill some time by messing around in the target practice room, but that was only fun for so long. So now he just decided to stand there in the hallway until it was time for dinner...or at least until something happened.

Turned out he got his wish.

A few soldiers came running down the hallway, yelling about how they wanted 'them' to be okay. Of course, this concerned Ratchet greatly, because that meant that someone had gotten hurt somewhere. Another soldier was trying to catch up with the previous group, but Ratchet latched his Omniwrench to his arm and pulled him back, making the soldier stumble. He kept his grip on him so he could keep his attention (the soldier was panicking pretty badly).

"Hey, what's going on? What's everyone freaking out about?"

"There...there was an accident in the Aviator room! Some Fusion Bombs went off and a lot of people got hurt, apparently!" The soldier said.

Ratchet felt his heart stop, and his grip on the soldier vanished. Fusion Bombs went off in the Aviator room, and people got hurt? But that meant...

 _"Actually, I was thinking that we could to the Aviator room and get some flying practice in," Trigger said._

 _"Flying practice...?" Circuit said quietly._

 _"You're interested, Circe?" Jet asked._

"CIRCUIT!" Ratchet blurted out before accidentally knocking the soldier over with his Omniwrench and taking off down the hallway. This was not happening, this could not be happening. Of all places that an incident could happen, it had to be the room that Circuit was in. He prayed to Orvus that she wasn't hurt, he prayed to Orvus that nothing happened to her. Circuit had already been hurt once, he didn't want her to be hurt again.

Ratchet followed the running soldiers and ended up entering the hangar, where he could see several ambulances flying out. He quickly looked around the room to see if he could find Circuit, but he ended up finding Sasha instead. He ran over to her and tried to ask what happened, but because he was so out of breath from running, he couldn't get many words out.

"Sasha...what...where's-"

"Circuit is on her way to the hospital. She was injured by the Fusion Bomb and the huge fall that followed after it," Sasha said, her voice quite unsteady, she was no doubt shaken up by the recent incident. She saw the look on Ratchet's face when she told him that, so she tried to soften the blow. "It's alright, her injuries are minor, thank god. But she'll probably have to spend the night at the hospital-"

"Why is she going to the hospital anyway?! Where's that doctor guy that you have working for you?"

"Doctor Wyre's out on personal business, so all injured soldiers have to be sent to the nearest ho-"

"Which hospital is Circuit going to?" Ratchet asked, looking Sasha dead in the eyes.

"C-Copernicus Q. Saint on Kerwan," Sasha said, a little caught off by Ratchet's dead seriousness. She told him that Circuit suffered minor injuries, why was he still all worked up?

"Thanks, Sasha," the Lombax said, nodding and took off in the other direction. But the Cazar called out for him.

"Wait! I need you to help me find out who's responsible for this whole thing! Ratchet..." Sasha suddenly trailed off with sudden realization. What was she thinking? Why was she trying to stop Ratchet from going to the hospital? His _daughter_ was in an _explosion_ , no wonder he was worried. Any parent would be. She guessed that she hadn't been Circuit's mother long enough to realize that. If she could, she would go with him to Kerwan, but she really needed to find out who set off those Fusion Bombs. They were thrown directly at the soldiers and flyers, so it couldn't have been an accident. If she didn't find out who it was soon, all of the soldiers on the ship were in possible danger.

* * *

Ratchet gasped heavily as he opened the door and stumbled into his bedroom. He took a moment to catch his breath before grabbing a small bag out from his pile of empty suitcases. If he was going to the hospital to see Circuit, then he was going to have to take a few things with him. As he packed, a million thoughts raced through his head. Within the span of roughly twenty four hours, his parent life was suddenly falling to pieces. First he hit Circuit, then he didn't look for her when she didn't come back to her room, then he allowed her to go flying with three soldiers that he barely knew, only to get blown up by a Fusion Bomb. If Circuit was an actual child of his legally, she would be taken away by the authorities immediately. He was given a second chance at being a father, and he screwed it up.

However...he wasn't just about to give up on being Circuit's father. He had to at least attempt to make things right, it was the least he could do. So, with his bag now packed and a sense of determination flowing through him, Ratchet ran back out into the hangar, said goodbye to Sasha (who wanted him to tell Circuit that she hoped that she was alright, and that she loved her), and jumped into Aphelion. But before he took off, his eyes landed on the passenger seat, which a distinct imprint on it. An imprint that was shaped like Circuit (or Clank, depending on who you think about). Ratchet felt a small pain in his chest, and he quickly covered the seat with his bag. Then he had one of the soldiers open the hangar doors and he and the Aphelion blasted off into space and towards Kerwan. Sasha watched him leave, one of her hands lying over her heart.

 **Planet Kerwan**

 **Copernicus Q. Saint Hospital**

Ratchet landed Aphelion right outside the Kerwan hospital. He threw his bag onto his bag and journeyed inside, locating the ambulances from the Phoenix outside the ER doors. Taking his eyes off the medical transports and ignoring the sweatdrop running through his fur, the Lombax speed walked into the lobby and walked up to the front desk, where a robotic clerk was waiting. Her shining blue eyes looked up at him once she saw him, and she asked how she could help him.

"My daughter was just brought here from the Starship Phoenix-"

"Oh my, I heard about that incident. I'm so sorry about your daughter. Being a member of the Q-Force is such a dangerous responsibility," the clerk said, genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of the recently brought in soldiers.

"I know, it just proves that the most unexpected of things can come at the most unexpected of times..." Ratchet snapped back into focus. "A-Anyway, can you tell me what room my kid is in? Her name is Circuit; she should be in the ER like the other soldiers."

"Hold on just a moment..." the robot searched the recent arrivals and found a match for 'Circuit'. "Ah, there she is. Looks like she's got a room to herself. She's in ER Room 187. They just ran a diagnostic on her and results are pending. You should be able to get in since you're family."

"Thanks," The Lombax said with a nod, heading down to the ER. He had to admit, he was surprised that the clerk wasn't questioning the fact that his daughter was a robot. She must have known that there was some sort of adoption factor somewhere in there and just decided not to point it out.

Ratchet kept his eyes on the wall as he passed by rooms, checking the numbers to see if they were going up for down. He found a hallway that started with 100 and went up, so that meant that Circuit was down that corridor. He broke into a speedwalk as he counted the numbers on the wall until he reached near the end of the hallway.

 _183...184...185...186...187..._

The Lombax stopped at Room 187 and took a quick peek through the small window in the door. It was fairly dark in the room, probably because it was nearly nighttime. But his eyes managed to make out, in the dim blue light, a small robot lying down on the bed. Ratchet quickly opened the door, quietly closing it behind him. He then walked over to the bed and took a look at Circuit, who was sleeping peacefully. Ratchet nearly let out a loud sigh of relief, but he kept quiet so he wouldn't disturb the small robot. She was alright. There were a few scratches and burn marks on her casing, but she was alright. They had her hooked up to a bag of IV, but that was it. So Sasha was right, Circuit didn't suffer any serious damage. Which made Ratchet feel even more relieved. But now was the time to do something with the stuff that he had brought with him.

Ratchet swung his bag over his shoulder and opened it, pulling out some of its contents. In one hand, he held a blue box, in the other, Little Ratchey. He placed the stuffed animal next to Circuit shoulder so she would see that it was there when she woke up. Next, the blue box, which he set in the middle of the bed. Then he whispered quietly.

"You'll probably be hungry when you wake up. Hopefully this can hold you over until breakfast tomorrow." He then closed his bag and tossed it into a nearby chair. Ratchet stretched and yawned after that, maybe it was time for a little bit of rest himself. So, he looked at Circuit and smiled a little as he reached for the side of her head, but his hand hesitated and froze inches above her metal surface. the Lombax then withdrew his hand and nodded. "Goodnight, Circuit."

Ratchet walked over to another chair and sat down in it. He fixed up his bag against the wall so it acted like a pillow, and he put his head against it, keeping it in place. He sat there for awhile, with nothing but the medical equipment making noise. Until, eventually, his whole body slumped, and he fell asleep.

* * *

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Hm?_

Circuit's violet eyes shined dimly as she opened them. The first thing that she noticed was that it was pretty dark, with only a dim blue light coming from the window allowing her to see. It took her a moment to process what was going on. She quickly recalled being caught in an explosion and falling to the ground, but she couldn't remember anything after that. The little robot sat up and looked around. It looked like that she was in some sort of hospital room. Though she had woken up in a hospital before, it was nothing like the medical wing on the Starship Phoenix. This time she had her own room with a large bed, which felt very plushy and comfortable. Speaking of plushy, something soft was underneath her arm, and she quickly looked at it. Her eyes brightened when she saw Little Ratchey leaning up against her. She pulled the stuffed animal into a hug and happily giggled. She looked at the toy and asked quietly-

"How did you get here, Little Ratchey...huh?" Circuit noticed a blue box sitting on her bed. Curious, she yanked on the covers and the box came within reach of her. She wondered what was inside of it. She grabbed it and opened it, looking inside. The little robot was happy to see a salmon sandwich and (still cold) celery, she was starving, and this looked absolutely delicious. But...there was only one person who knew that she liked organic food. So that must mean...

 _Snore..._

Circuit jumped a little as she heard a faint snoring sound come from the left. She looked over there and saw some chairs, one of which Ratchet was occupying. He was sound asleep, a backpack against the wall acting as his pillow. That explained all of it, why the food and Little Ratchey were there: Ratchet had brought them for her. Circuit hugged her toy a bit tight as she looked at the Lombax. After everything that happened between them, he still came to be with her, even bringing her food and her favorite stuffed animal. Now she felt guilty as ever. But, guilt wasn't going to stop her from remembering how hungry she was, and she happily began tearing into her sandwich.

Meanwhile, as Circuit was distracted by her food, Ratchet's right ear twitched as it picked up the sound of movement. The sound soon traveled through his ear and to his brain, causing his slumber to become interrupted. He opened his eyes slightly and raised his head off of his backpack wall pillow, moaning a bit as he did. Ratchet wasn't exactly one for having his sleep time interrupted. However, this time he could make an exception when he realized what woke him up. He nearly shot up out of his chair when he saw Circuit up and eating the sandwich that he had left for her. He didn't really want to interrupt her, but he just couldn't help but say-

"Circuit!"

Circuit jumped badly and she nearly dropped her sandwich, but she managed to keep her grip on it. She placed a hand on her chest and sighed in relief, then she saw Ratchet staring at her. She swallowed the bit of sandwich in her mouth nervously, then she pointed at the food. "S-Sorry, was...was this yours? I saw it on the bed and thought that you left it for me, but i-if that is not the case-"

"No no no, don't worry, that's for you," Ratchet said, smiling as Circuit finished off her food quickly. He then stood up and walked over to the bedside, "Sasha told me about what happened. Thank god you managed to get out with only a couple scratches." Ratchet reached out to place a hand on Circuit's head, but hesitated, then his hand fell back to his side. He couldn't help but believe that his presence was bothering Circuit. After all, they hadn't seen or talked to each other since the other night. So, deciding that it was for the best he nodded and said, "Well, I um...I'm glad your alright. I'm...I-I'm gonna go now. The doctor will take care of you, and you can call a nurse if you ever need something. So um...I guess I'll see ya later."

He avoided making eye contact as he turned around and began walking towards his bag, but two metal hands wrapped around his right wrist and stopped him. Then a small voice followed. "Do not go...please?" Ratchet stood very still for a moment before sighing to himself and turning back around. He saw the sad look on Circuit's face; she knew that it was time to talk about what happened. Trying to act like he was prepared, Ratchet got ready to say something. However, he was cut off by Circuit latching onto his shirt, her body shaking. "I am sorry!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Ratchet yelled, caught completely off guard. "What are you-why are you...you're seriously...WHAT?!"

"I am sorry that I disrespected your father figure! I was just mad! Clank told me about how he...how he tried to kill you!" Circuit said, nearly letting Clank's secret slip. Luckily she managed to say that Azimuth 'tried' to kill him. "I do not blame for for hitting me, Ratchet. I deserved it-!"

Ratchet gripped Circuit's wrists tightly, the Lombax was shaking with not fear, not sadness...but with rage. He then yelled, "You _deserved_ to be hit?! What is the matter with you?! You're the _very_ last person in this universe who deserves to be hit! You did what you did because you had a valid reason, but you still think that what _you_ did was the worst of the situation?! I _hit_ you, Circuit! Why are you apologizing to me?! It should be the other way around! And stop holding in your anger! For the love of god, for once in your life, be mad at me! Say that you hate me! Do _something_ that makes it look like that I'm the bad guy! Please, Circuit, I'm _begging_ you!"

Very much to both Ratchet and Circuit's surprise, Ratchet's yelling didn't cause any tears to form in Circuit's eyes. She didn't even flinch or say that Ratchet was hurting her wrists. No, instead, she seemed to relax, and said in a calm and quiet voice, "Ratchet...do you remember that night when I came out into the living room in the middle of the night and told you that I had a nightmare?"

Ratchet took a moment to dig into his memories and pull out a certain one from one year ago. Yes, he remembered it well. He had been staying up playing video games when Circuit suddenly appeared next to him.

 _The little robot walked around the side of the couch to see the still awake Ratchet with a game controller in his hands. He jumped a little when he spotted her, then he paused the game and placed a hand on his chest._

 _"Oh, Circuit, it's you. Wasn't expecting to see you there all of the sudden. Speaking of which, why am I seeing you there all of the sudden? Shouldn't you be in bed?"_

 _"I had a...well, a nightmare...of sorts," she replied, placing a hand on the back of her head._

The Lombax nodded to Circuit, signifying that he indeed remembered that night. She nodded once and continued. "I do not know if you remember this part, but that was the night when I first called you 'daddy'. Do you recall what led to that sudden name outburst?"

Ratchet nodded again. When he had found out about the Connection network that Circuit and Klunk had, and that it allowed Klunk to enter her mind, he began laying down some new rules for Circuit. He believed that the rules would overwhelm and limit her greatly, so he said that he she hated him for doing it, then he would understand. It was then that Circuit began her outburst:

 _"Hate you?! Why would I hate you?! I would never hate you! Even if I tried, you have done too much to protect me and keep me happy for me to have any level of hatred for you! I have only known you for a week, but you treat me like you have known me for years! So if you think that I am ever going to start hating you, you are thinking wrong."_

 _"Circuit..."_

 _"I was so scared and confused when I landed on this planet nine days ago. You offered to help me without even asking if I was good or bad. Even though I refused your offer and ran away from you, you caught up to me and helped me anyway. You brought me here, fixed every broken part that I had, gave me a name when I did not have one, fed me whenever I was hungry, cheered me up whenever I was sad about something, you even took me to other planets so I could see what they were like. And now, here you are, protecting me from an insane evil robot! If I even thought about hating you for one second, I would be ashamed of myself! I could never hate you, daddy!"_

"I told you that night that no matter what, under any circumstance, I would never hate you. And I intend on keeping that promise, even after you hit me. I have never hated you, and I never will," Circuit said, shaking her head.

"A-Are you sure?" Ratchet asked, really concerned about Circuit's dedication to not hating him. "Because I thought for sure that, after what I did, that you would like...I dunno...now want to see or talk to me, or even be my daughter anymore."

Circuit shook her head again, "Mm-mm, I could never bring myself to do any of that. Besides," the little robot pulled her Lombax eared hood onto her head and smiled happily, "I am still your little Lombax, right?"

Ratchet couldn't help but smile a little as he looked at Circuit's plush Lombax ears. He had nearly forgotten about her new outfit, and it still looked awesome on her, especially the hoodie. Though he was a bit hesitant at first, the Lombax placed a hand on Circuit's back and pulled her into a hug, which she gladly accepted. "Of course you're my little Lombax," he said. Then his voice got fairly serious. "Circuit, I am so, so sorry about what I did...I promise you that it'll never happen again."

"I forgive you, daddy," Circuit replied, still smiling happily. But, after a few moments, her smile faded, and her grip on Ratchet loosened. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Ratchet asked, letting her go and looking at her with concern.

"I am detecting something coming down the hallway, and it appears to be heading towards this room at a fairly rapid pace. I do not know what it is though."

Ratchet stood up all the way and looked at the door to the room. Then he found himself growling as his ears lowered. It must be the person who threw the Fusion Bombs, and they were coming to finish the job with Circuit. He stood in front of the female robot and got into a defensive stance, Circuit cowering behind her and hugging Little Ratchey. His ears picked up the sound of footsteps outside, and they were coming closer. Soon, they were at the door, and the door itself flew open. And in came-

"Clank?!" The Lombax said with surprise as Clank stumbled into the room, quickly grabbing the door to regain his balance. He bent over and let out some tired sighs, he must have ran all the way to the room.

"Clank!" Circuit said happily as she appeared behind Ratchet.

"What are you doing here?" Ratchet asked, getting out of his defensive stance and helping Clank stand up straight.

The small robot collected himself and said in a tired tone, "I heard about the bomb incident on the news. I called Sasha to make sure that everyone was alright, and she told me that Circuit had been sent to the hospital. I came here the second that I hung up the phone. Circuit, are you alright?"

"Y-Yes, I am fine, no need to worry so much," Circuit said bashfully.

"Are you sure? Sasha told me that you were caught in the Fusion Bomb explosion."

"I am fine, Clank, really! Look, I will show you," the female robot said as she threw the covers off of her and dropped down off of the bed (Ratchet threw his arms out, ready to catch the robot). She stood there and shrugged, "See? I am fi-WHOA!"

As Circuit moved her right foot slightly forward, she was suddenly jerked off course and stumbled all over the place. She didn't have any balance whatsoever, so matter how hard she tried to stand still. Eventually, her legs gave out, and she fell onto the ground. Ratchet was about to help her up, but Clank beat him to it. He helped Circuit off of the ground and attempted to hold her in place as she began to stumble again, "Circuit are you alright? You appeared to have no sense of balance and-oh my goodness, you are wearing a different outfit!"

"You are just now noticing?" Circuit said, slightly annoyed that Clank was more focused on that instead of the fact that she really couldn't walk. "I made it myself. It is nice, right?"

"Yes, very," the male robot, said, quite impressed.

"I better not catch you looking up her skirt!" Ratchet said, pointing a finger at his friend.

"What?! Wh-Why would I do that?!" Clank yelled, his face turning red, much to Ratchet's amusement.

"Honestly, Ratchet, why must you think like that?" Circuit said, holding down the from part of her skirt. But, because she had taken both hands off of Clank, she stumbled around. Clank attempted to keep her on her feet, but she just couldn't keep her balance, and she fell to her knees. "What is going on with me? Why can I not walk right?"

"The explosion didn't damage your legs, did it?" Ratchet asked.

Circuit shook her head, "No, my system says that my legs are fully functional. Perhaps I should run a self scan-"

Everyone looked at the front of the room as the door open, and in came the doctor, a female Markazian (doctor was a popular occupation among the species) with black hair and brown eyes, a white coat flowing along as she walked. She had a look of surprise as she saw two robots on the floor and a Lombax right next to them. She looked at Circuit.

"It's nice to see that you're awake. And it looks like that you brought some friends," she said in a friendly tone.

"I'm Ratchet," Ratchet said, and then pointed at his friend. "And that's Clank."

"M-Miss doctor, I cannot walk right. I have no sense of balance whatsoever," Circuit said as Ratchet lifted her back on to the bed. "Did you find something during the diagnostic that can explain what has happened to me?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," the Markazian said, a sudden sad tone dropped onto her voice. She looked at the paper on her clipboard to confirm that what she was about to say was correct. She looked at Circuit. "After the explosion, you fell to the floor from a large height, right? Well, the impact caused some internal damage. Most of it is easily repairable, but one key organ was almost shattered to pieces."

"Which one?" Clank asked.

"The Gyroscope," the doctor said. The Gyroscope was a sort of organ that was exclusive to robots. It granted them balance and allowed them to walk straight. It was no wonder that Circuit kept stumbling everywhere, her sense of balance really was gone.

"My Gyroscope is broken? Are you going to be able to fix it?" Circuit asked, sounding a bit upset.

"Repairing a Gyroscope is a very delicate procedure, and not every single one will end in a success, but we can try if we get the okay from a parent of guardian."

Circuit and Clank's eyes fell on Ratchet, who had his arms crossed. Of course he was going to say yes, how else would Circuit be able to recover from the accident. However, there was one thing that he had to mention, "Circuit can have the procedure to get her Gyroscope fixed, but I have one condition."

"Condition?" The Markazian said with confusion. "And what would that be?"

"I'm going to help fix her. I'm a mechanic, and I know more about Circuit's anatomy than any doctor here. I can be a big help, trust me."

The doctor looked at Ratchet like he was kind of crazy. Who did he think he was trying to butt in on a very fragile robotic procedure? However...it was true that they would need help working with this robot's anatomy, because her model was unidentifiable, and that would just make it even harder to work with. So, hoping that the surgeons wouldn't mind, she nodded, "Alright, if you can help us with her anatomy, then you can help us fix her Gyroscope."

Ratchet had a triumphant look on his face, and he and the doctor stepped outside so they could talk about how the procedure would go (they thought it would make Circuit sick if they talked about it in front of her). Meanwhile, both Circuit and Clank shook their heads.

"He can never just leave it to the professionals," Clank said, folding his arms. "He always has to take matters into his own hands."

"Heh, Ratchet will be Ratchet," Circuit replied, shrugging.

 _Meanwhile, on the Starship Phoenix..._

Sasha went down her checklist for all the soldiers currently on the ship. When everything had settled down, she called in everyone to have a memory check so she could see if anyone was involved in the Fusion Bomb accident. Anyone who would not show up to have their memories reviewed would be considered responsible. So all the soldiers showed up, and it took a good few hours to hook up each one to the monitor and check their memory banks. However, even after the hours of effort, Sasha came up with nothing. All the soldiers had a memory of being in a different part of the ship, not a single one had a memory of being in the Aviator room. This was definitely a tough situation for her. If none of the soldiers did it, then that meant that there was an intruder on the ship, and they were trying to kill soldiers. She would have to activate a lockdown after making an announcement to the soldiers.

So, Sasha walked over to the computer and typed in the message that she would send to all of the soldiers:

 _Attention all soldiers of the Starship Phoenix. After reviewing all of your memories, I have concluded that a soldier did not cause the Fusion Bomb incident. But that means that there is or was an intruder on the ship at the time of the incident. Because of this, we will be commencing a lockdown on the ship. Meaning that no can leave or enter without strict clearance, and all teleporters will be shut off. With luck, the intruder, if they're still here, will attempt to use the teleporter or escape in a ship while being unaware of the lockdown. It is then that we will capture them._

 _-Captain Sasha Phyronix_

The Cazar sent the message and proceeded to shut down all hangars and teleporters. With luck this will stop the intruder from getting out or back in. But Sasha wanted to catch that crook and arrest him. What he did was horrible. No one hurt her daughter, no one. She was not going to let them escape.

However, the intruder had already escaped, right after the Fusion Bomb incident. They had rushed to the teleporters and sent themselves to a planet far away from the Phoenix. So far that no one would ever think to look there.

A lone soldier stood alone as orange and red skies reflected off of its dirty brown metal. Except its metal didn't stay that color for much longer as it pushed several buttons on a box located on its waist. It deactivated the box, or Hologuise, and its true form was revealed. Silver skin, yellow eyes, black metal hair...a metallic doctors coat.

He dug into his pocket and grabbed on to something as he whispered to himself, "Well, I didn't manage to get the specimen itself, but at least I got a sample. that should be good enough for him."

The robot pulled out and held up to the sun a small vial of black shimmering blood, and then began walking towards the outskirts of Zordoom Prison.

 _Back at Copernicus Q. Saint Hospital..._

Circuit had been deactivated and taken to the surgery room, where they did who knows what to her. She didn't know, she just spent all of her time sitting in her own conscious, waiting patiently and doing the occasional humming. It took awhile for them to get done with her, so much so that she began pacing around her own mind, checking a watch that she didn't have. Circuit wasn't really one for getting impatient, but this surgery was taking forever. She sort of wished that she could see what they were doing to her, but then she took it back. If she saw her cut open body getting operated on, she would probably throw up.

Circuit sort of liked sitting in her conscious, it gave her a nice quiet environment to think. Right now, she was thinking about how everything was finally starting to get back on track with her family. But, there was still the issue about who threw the bomb at her in the others, and Ratchet and Sasha would probably be all over that. Circuit honestly couldn't think of someone who would try to hurt her or anyone else aboard the Phoenix. But, whoever it was, they were either really mean or just really clumsy when it came to throwing weapons.

After what felt like forever, imaginary Circuit felt herself beginning to fade, meaning that she was waking up. And, after a few minutes, she opened her eyes and immediately saw Ratchet's face. He was shaking her shoulder gently and telling her to wake up. She replied with a tiny moan and a small smile, but then she realized that her whole body was aching slightly. How much did they have to cut her open in order to get to her Gyroscope?

Ratchet helped her sit up, and she noticed that Clank was sitting on the bed as well. But something about his face made it look like that...well, she couldn't really tell what his face was saying. But he looked happy to see her, she knew that much. The female robot then looked up at Ratchet and the doctor, who was standing behind the Lombax.

"How did it go? Were you able to repair my gyroscope? Can I walk again?" Circuit asked innocently.

A nervous look suddenly formed on Ratchet's face, which confused Circuit. What was he so nervous about? Did something go wrong? The Lombax rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the doctor, who was sharing the same expression. She nodded at him and then nodded towards Circuit. Ratchet took a deep breath and looked at the small female robot. "Well, you see Circuit. We faced some...difficulties while trying to repair your Gyroscope."

"W-Wait, you mean that you could not fix it?"

"No, we fixed it. Just, um...not in a way that you would expect."

"Huh? What do you...eh," Circuit was interrupted by an irritating feeling coming from her lower back. Must have been some after surgery discomfort. She reached behind her and attempted to rub where it was hurting, but her body tensed up when her fingers brushed up against something...something she could feel herself. The small robot slowly looked behind her, and nearly screamed when she saw what was there: a foot and a half long black, metallic tail.

* * *

 **It was a tail, Guardian, a tail. You were really close though.**

 **Yep, that's the odd thing that happened to Circuit: she got a tail! Some Gyroscope alternative, huh?**

 **Also, sorry that this was posted later than I promised. I seemed to have wandered into another video game fanbase over the course of the past two days. I'll give you a hint about what it is...it's Undertale (wow, that was a big hint).**

 **Only eight more reviews until this story reaches one hundred! We're almost there guys! WHOO!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess if Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	19. Chapter 19

Circuit was frozen with shock as she stared at her new extra part. And it made it even worse when she managed to move it (though it was just a little twitch). A tail...she had...a tail. How did Gyroscope repair surgery lead to this?!

"Wha...I-I...wh-I...I...WHY?!" She said, looking at Ratchet.

The Lombax, who still looked uncomfortable with delivering the news, smiled nervously, "Well, you see uh...C-Circuit, during the procedure we discovered that your Gyroscope was damaged beyond proper repair. But we couldn't just leave it at that because that would mean that you wouldn't be able to walk properly ever again. So the doctor and I tried to think of a solution about how you can keep your sense of balance, and we both happened to glance at each other's tails...which we use to balance ourselves and uhh...y-yeah, I think that you would know the rest from there...heh-heh."

"We attached the wires of your tail to your damaged Gyroscope," the Markazian doctor said, "they're basically working hand in hand with each other, but your tail is responsible for the majority of your balance."

Circuit looked grimly over her shoulder, and her tail twitched, making her jump, "It is so weird..."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," the doctor said with a small smile. "I mean, it's better to have a tail to balance on than having no balance at all, right?"

"R-Right," the female robot said, trying to keep her eyes off of her new part. She found herself glancing at Clank, who was wearing the same nervous look that Ratchet had. He looked like that he wanted to say something, but he just couldn't get it out of his throat. Circuit sighed and pulled her hood over her head (the doctor letting out a "n'awww!" when she saw the Lombax ears) and said, "I know, it makes me look kind of creepy. It is not really an upgrade to be proud about..."

"Uhhh," Clank said, trying to find the right words to say. But this tail thing was really throwing him off. He agreed with her, it was pretty weird, it was like seeing himself with a tail. But he couldn't say that; he would just end up offending Circuit. So he began to stammer for the right nice thing to say, "Well, um...I-I mean, it is not so bad and u-uh...it looks fairly nice on you."

"Really?" Circuit asked, a happy feeling running through her. When Clank nodded, she sighed to herself. At least Clank didn't think that her tail was an atrocity, he even said that it looked nice on her, which made her face go a little red, but she was still happy. But maybe she was a little too happy...

Ratchet was suddenly covering his mouth to hold back some laughs. When Clank asked what was so funny, he tried to talk properly as he removed one of his hands and pointed at Circuit. "I uh...I-I think that someone is happy."

Circuit tilted her head as Ratchet found a simple fact to be so humorous and attempted to ask what was so funny about it before she felt it. Something was moving around behind her, and she had a pretty good idea about what it was. She quickly looked over her shoulder and she yelped in alarm as she saw her tail swishing back and forth uncontrollably. She shot up onto her feet and yelled, "AH! Wh-What is it doing? Make it stop!"

"Interesting," the doctor said. "It appears that your tail can also pick up on your emotions, almost like a dog or a cat. I'll have to note that for future procedure that will involve tail installments."

"It is not stopping!" Circuit said, trying to keep her tail still. She looked at Clank, "Clank, you are smart, do something!"

"Oh! U-Umm, right, let me just..." Clank tracked the movements of Circuit's tail and pinpointed the ideal location for stopping it. When he did, he waited for the right moments until... "Ah-ha!"

"No don't!" The doctor yelled, grabbing Clank before he could grab Circuit's tail. The robot looked up at her with confusion as she let him go after pulling him down towards the end of the bed. He was about to ask what she was doing, but she didn't need to be asked in order to explain. "Tails are like big nerves, if you grab it, it'll cause the owner extreme discomfort. Trust me, I know, and I'm guessing that your Lombax friend there knows as well."

"It's the worst!" Ratchet said, recovering from laughing so much.

The Markazian walked over to Circuit, who was still freaking out about her wagging tail. She caught the tail in her palm and stroked it gently, making it straighten out and then fall lifelessly onto the bed. Circuit plopped down onto the bed and sighed in relief. She looked up at her doctor.

"There, is that better?" The doctor asked.

"Uh-huh. That tail seems like it has a mind of its own..." Circuit said.

"Nah, you just need to learn how to control it. But it does seem to get a little uncontrollable when you're happy. If it gets like that again, just stroke it gently to calm it down."

"Okay," the small robot said with a nod, pulling part of her tail into her lap.

Ratchet walked over to Circuit and placed a hand on her head before asking, "Well, what do we do now? Do you want to keep her overnight?"

The doctor quickly gave Circuit a look over, checking her head, torso and tail reflexes. After that, she gave them permission to take Circuit home, and gave them directions for keeping her healthy (don't stress her out, eat meals regularly, stroke tail when it goes out of control, etc.). On the way out, she told them that her name was Angie in case they come back and wanted her to check up on Circuit (or Clank). Ratchet made sure that everything was packed and he dropped his backpack and two robots into the passenger seat, where they both fell asleep (Circuit was still pretty tired and Clank had hardly slept at all for the past few days). As Ratchet took off, a thought occurred to him, a thought about the Phoenix. After thinking about it, he launched into space as fast as he could, hoping that Sasha hadn't put the Phoenix on lockdown yet.

 _Meanwhile, at Zordoom Prison..._

Guard robots wielded weapons, robot hounds barked, laser walls burned, it was obvious where Wyre was: the infamous and highly guarded Zordoom Prison. Most people would expect the robot to be scared out of his mind, but he had been there many times before, so the scary guards and dogs didn't put him off one bit. He found it amusing how the prisoners feared the security. Such pathetic specimens he would say.

Wyre walked up to the entrance of the prison, where two guards stopped him. They scanned him for identification, the wire grid model of him appeared green, and they let him in. He placed his hands in his white coat and put a smug look on his face as he walked past the guards. He was like this because he knew for a fact that they were going to be stuck there, guarding a door for the rest of their lives while he was about to make a big deal with someone. Sure, he had to put in four years of work in order to achieve just a blood sample, but it was sure to grant him at least some power.

The robot walked into an elevator, and entered in his destination, making the elevator jerk upwards. When he got there and the doors opened, he was met by two guards pointing Negotiators at him. When they took a moment to realize who he was, they put their weapons down. One of them turned around a spoke to someone in the fairly dark room. The only source of light being the large screen, and it reflected off of a metal chair.

"Hey boss, Wyre's here, let's hope he's got something this time..." the guard said that last part quietly.

"Oh, I have something this time," Wyre said, shoving the guard aside.

"Are you sure about that, Wyre?" A voice asked. "Because the last few times you just led us to dead ends."

"Lucius, I promise you, I've finally found something that can help us."

"You seem so confident about this finding. Alright, what do you have for me?"

"I'll gladly show you. Tell me, Lucius, are you familiar with...Zoni blood?" Wyre said, pulling out a small vial of shimmering black blood.

The metal chair quickly turned around, revealing the cyborg himself, Lucius Dukes. Half of his face was made of a shining silver metal, and a digital blue eye shined brightly. The other half was made of pale skin with a pale blue eye that didn't shine as much as the other one. His brown hair was metallic and made to look slicked back, but it was still slightly spiky.

Dukes got up out of his chair, his brown blazer and red tie swinging a bit as he walked over to wire. Wanting to be careful with it, he used his robotic hand to grab the vial and look at it himself. The vial's reflection could be seen in Duke's shining blue eye, and a smile grew on his face, half organic and half robotic (it was kind of creepy to look at). Then a question came to mind.

"Where did you get this such a high quality sample of a Zoni? We've been trying to catch one for years!"

"Hm, she let me take her blood, convinced her that I was going to check it for infections," Wyre said smugly, satisfied with his work.

"'She'? What do you mean 'she'? Only two of the Zoni species are known to have genders, and both are male."

"Yes, well, turns out that there's a new Zoni on the block. And get this: she's friends with the one that we're after. Can you believe that?"

Dukes studied the vial before replying, "That should be helpful to us, yes. But, one quick question."

"And that would be...?"

"Why in the _hell_ would you just take this Zoni girls _blood_ when you could have just brought her _here_?!" The cyborg yelled, making the robot guards raise their weapons in alarm.

"I can explain that, _I can explain that_!" Wyre yelled, hoping that his excuse would work. "She wasn't alone when I took her blood. She has a father, a Lombax...well, an adoptive father, but he's still super protective. He would have blown my head off is I even laid a hand on the robot! Plus, Sasha was there, and I couldn't just up and blow my cover right in front of her!"

"Then why didn't you get her when she was alone? Or cause a distraction and then grab her?"

"I actually tried tried to do that. She was flying with some soldiers and I threw some Fusion Bombs to cause a distraction. I had used my Hologuise so people would see me as a soldier in case anyone saw me when I went in to grab her. But Sasha and more soldiers were in there before the smoke even cleared, I never got a chance to grab her and leave."

Dukes stared at Wyre for a bit, making the pretend doctor a bit uncomfortable. He tried his very best to not let his gaze drift towards his boss's robot eye, Dukes hated it when people stared at it. Luckily, the cyborg turned around and walked over to his chair, sitting in it and turning around. He began typing on a keyboard that Wyre could see, and the giant white screen in the room turned blue. He talked as he typed.

"We've been planning this for four years, Wyre, and I've trusted you to get work done. This blood sample is impressive, yes, and your discovery of another Zoni, but it's doing nothing for me so far. No, we'll just have to snatch up one of them, or both, either is great, and we'll have them spill the beans. Do you know where either or the Zoni are?"

"They are currently staying at my workplace, the Starship Phoenix," Wyre replied.

"Alright, I want you to track both of them, and find an ideal place for capture."

"Well, they should be heading towards the next search planet very soon, and no doubt the Lombax will bring both of the Zoni with him to explore the place."

"That'll work, I'll see to it that something is stationed there, and then we might finally have what we need..."

An image was uploaded to the giant screen, filling the room with a bright blue light. A blurry picture of the Great Clock was sitting in the corner, but the main attraction was the picture of Clank that had once been observed by Nefarious and a Terachnoid when they had Orvus trapped in a chamber.

 _Meanwhile, at the Starship Phoenix..._

"WHY DOES SHE HAVE A TAIL?!" Sasha yelled at Ratchet, who was trying to do his best to explain everything.

Everything seemed nice and calm when Ratchet was let into the Phoenix without having to go through some ridiculous ship search or something like that. He had woken up Clank and Circuit, whose heads banged together when they did finally wake up, causing drowsiness to not linger. Sasha, who was the one that let Aphelion into the ship, was waiting in the hangar with her arms crossed. She had actually thought that Ratchet had left Circuit at the hospital by herself, and prepared to call him something that would have made Clank cringe. But she was relieved when two purple eyes peeked out of the ship and caught sight of her. Circuit cried out for her mother, which confused Clank greatly, because he did not know yet that Circuit considered the Cazar as her mother.

Circuit had climbed out and then tumbled out of the ship, still being weak from the surgery. Luckily, Sasha had ran up to the ship and grabbed her before she hurt her. The Cazar had pulled the small robot into a hug and told her that she was glad that she was alright. But her heartwarming feeling went away when she saw something pop out of Circuit's jacket and swish back and forth at a fairly rapid pace. That was when all the anger was suddenly pointing towards Ratchet.

The Cazar was still growling at Ratchet as he stammered for the correct explanation. Meanwhile, Circuit and Clank were working on calming her tail down, which was going unsuccessfully. Circuit kept stroking it, but it was still wagging back and forth.

"I-It is not working!" Circuit said, very alarmed. And being alarmed was bad, because Angie had told them not to stress her out, but she guessed that her tail missed the memo.

"Here, allow me to do help," Clank said as he reached for her tail, but Circuit grabbed his wrist, her face turning bright red.

"N-No! I can handle it! Do not...do not touch my tail..."

Clank placed his fists on his waist as he watched his friend struggle to calm her tail down. It was funny at first but now it was just hard to watch. So, after watching Circuit fail at calming down, he decided to just put her out of her misery, "I know that you do not want me to do this, Circuit, but I cannot watch this any longer!"

The male robot caught her tail and stroked it gently, making it fall to the ground, finally calm. Meanwhile, Circuit was completely frozen, her eyes wide and her face red. Clank was about to ask if she was alright before she looked over her shoulder with an innocent and embarrassed face. "Th...Thank you, Clank."

Clank looked at her weird, but then he realized how awkward this all was (and he was glad that Ratchet was too busy with Sasha to notice). Having your tail stroke must feel a little odd, but having your crush do it must make the odd feeling skyrocket. But, he had to do it, it was the doctor's orders. But he still talked in a nervous voice as he said: "I-It was no problem. The doctor did tell us to help you with your tail after all."

Circuit was about to say something back before Ratchet and Sasha came over to them, Ratchet sort of out of breath from explaining everything to the Cazar. And Sasha still looked a tiny bit angry, but most of it appeared to have subsided.

"It's alright, we've cleared everything up," Ratchet said with a thumbs up. "Though she wouldn't let me finish a sentence without asking me, like, ten thousand questions!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just a little curious after seeing that our _daughter_ has a _tail!_ " Sasha said, glaring at the Lombax.

"The idea was approved by professional medical people!" The Lombax argued.

"Whatever." Sasha knelt down to look at Circuit better. Clank kept a close watch on her tail in case it started wagging again. "Are you really okay with having a tail? Because it's alright if you aren't. We can take you back to the hospital and think of some other alternative."

Circuit shook her head, "No, I am fine with my tail. I do not think that there is any need to possibly replace it with something else. I will need a few days to get used to it, though. But other than that, I am perfectly fine with it."

Sasha's ears lowered slightly. She had hoped that Circuit would have complained about the tail and proven that Ratchet was wrong about her being okay with the idea. But, now that she thought about it, Circuit wasn't one for complaining, so she shouldn't have relied on that. Defeated, Sasha stood up and said that she was going to the Bridge so she could get in contact with the hospital, leaving the group of three to do whatever. Ratchet was feeling fairly tired, it was midnight after all, and he had only gotten a few hours of sleep in the past two days. But there was an issue with sleeping space now, because they only had two sleeping quarters. So Ratchet placed his hands on his waist and looked down at the two robots.

"Alright, now we have to sort out who's sleeping where, because there are only two bedrooms. Now who wants to sleep in my room?"

Clank stood there with a sort of blank expression while Circuit's hand shot straight up, "Ooh! Pick me! Pick me, Ratchet!"

"Mm...I dunno," Ratchet said, teasing the robot by pretending to think about it. But, with the look that Clank was now shooting him, he shrugged and smiled, "Alright, Circuit, you can sleep with me."

"Yes!" Circuit said in a happy tone, forcing her tail to perk up and begin wagging again. She looked behind her and yelped, "Ah! N-Not again!"

"Oh, honestly," Clank said, placing his fists on his waist again and rolling his eyes a bit (if he had pupils, that is). Though he couldn't help but begin laughing a bit. He knew it was rude, but he just couldn't help it. Circuit shot him an angry look.

"Th-This is not funny, Clank!"

"I-I-I am s-sorry, it is j-j-use tha-that...hehehehehehe!" Clank laughed, covering his mouth to quiet himself.

Circuit became quite angry, and she began punching Clank in the arm repeatedly. But she had no arm strength, so Clank barely felt anything. "You meanie!"

Ratchet's tail flicked and he placed his hand on top of his head as he watched the two robots bicker. It was strange, Circuit seemed to act a bit different around Clank than she did around him. When she was around him, Circuit acted like a little kid, which she is. But, when she was around Clank, she seemed to act as mature as him...well, sort of. More mature than usual, Ratchet should say. But he had never seen Circuit go into slight violence. He knew that he wasn't actually trying to hurt Clank by punching him, but it was definitely a new and much different reaction. Maybe she was just tired from everything that had happened to her, and that was causing this angry Circuit to occur. So, finding the whole scene to not be humorous anymore, Ratchet stroked Circuit's tail and picked her up.

"Alright, alright, break it up you two. I think it's time that we all just calm down and go to bed."

"But I am not tired," Circuit said.

"Yes you are," Ratchet said, poking Circuit on the head.

"Okay, I am."

"Alrighty then. Goodnight, Clank."

Clank stood there and watched Ratchet and Circuit go towards and into their bedroom, leaving him by himself. Now that he had a bit of time to think, he now felt extremely bad for laughing at Circuit. She was trying her best to make do with her new tail, and she was struggling with it, which was nothing to laugh at. He had been around that jerky director of his for too long. The small robot placed a hand on his forehead, hoping that Circuit would forgive him for laughing at her.

 _Clank clank clank clank..._

Clank picked up the sound of metal footsteps, but before he could turn around and see who or what it was, he was startled by two arms wrapping around him and pulling him to a hug. His eyes then went wide as the person hugging him kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Clank," said Circuit's voice. Then she let go and ran back to her and Ratchet's room, leaving Clank alone once again. The male robot just stood there, his face slowly yet surely turning bright red. A small smile formed on his face. It was times like this when he wished that he had gone with Circuit instead of staying to film Secret Agent Clank.

* * *

 **Looks like Circuit is having a lot of trouble with her new tail, but Angie believes that she'll get the hang of it...but that doesn't make Sasha any less pissed.**

 **Oh, and uh, I guess you met the antagonists...so there's that...yeah.**

 **As for updates, I'm probably gonna update Little Brother 2 soon, and then I'll make Chapter 20 of this story. So there, we have a schedule...s-sort of.**

 **Also, I've started accepting commissions on Deviantart! So if you want me to draw your Ratchet and Clank OC, just check the details on my Deviantart profile!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	20. Chapter 20

Ratchet and Circuit got up late that morning, around about 10:00 AM, and went to the Bridge where a fairly impatient Sasha was waiting. When she asked what took them so long getting up, Ratchet said that they had encountered...difficulties while they tried to get up. Sasha was'tvery convinced with the excuse, probably because it wasn't the one hundred percent truth. What really happened was that a tired robot wouldn't let her father leave the bed.

 _Ratchet woke up at about 8:10 in the morning, Circuit sleeping comfortably at his side. He stretched and told Circuit that he was getting up, so she could have the bed to herself, and he began scooting out of the bed. However, Circuit latched onto his torso and attempted to keep him down on the bed. Ratchet tried to push her off, the small robot making annoyed and moaning noises._

 _"No, I'm not staying here. Let go," Ratchet said calmly as he pushed on the robot._

 _"No," Circuit squeaked._

 _"Come on, Circuit, I'm serious. Let go."_

 _"No."_

 _"Circuit, let go! I promised myself that I would get up early and do something productive!"_

 _"No."_

 _"Let...go...right now!" Ratchet said as Circuit's grip on him got tighter. He tried his best to get her off. "Circuit, come on...let go...right now...oh, screw it!"_

 _The Lombax flopped back down onto the bed and buried Circuit and himself under the covers, Circuit happily cuddling up next to him._

Ratchet placed his hands on his waist and looked down at Circuit when he got in trouble for waking up late, but he couldn't help but smile when the small robot giggled and hugged his leg. He sighed and rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. Why did this robot have to be so darn cute? And why did she let go of him suddenly and start freaking out?

Oh, right, because her tail had started wagging.

But it wasn't as bad this time. It was gently swishing back and forth instead of going full force, meaning that Circuit was starting to gain control of it, but not completely. Ratchet got down onto his knees and stroked he wagging tail, causing it to fall to the ground lifelessly. Circuit let out a huge sigh and dropped down onto her bottom. She was starting to get really tired of this tail wagging thing. Heck, she was starting to get tired of the whole tail itself. It kept twitching every now and then, which creeped her out, and it was just downright uncomfortable. It kept causing her backside pains. But, then again, that might just be after surgery pain. Ratchet saw the miserable look on Circuit's face. He grabbed her shoulders and brought her back up to her feet and spoke.

"Look, I know that this tail is a big change for you, and it's gonna suck for awhile. But you'll get used to it. I learned to get used to mine...granted I wish born with it...and Lombax instinct basically got used to it for me...same goes for Sasha...this is _not_ helping!" Ratchet said, scolding himself.

"I get what you are trying to say, Ratchet, so there is no need to continue," Circuit said innocently, waving her hands. She then quickly changed the subject, "So, what are we doing today?"

"Ratchet, Clank and I are going with a group of soldiers to search the next Nefarious Sweep planet," Sasha answered for Ratchet, looking at the map of planets. "We'll find something for you to do."

"W-Wait, I want to go with you guys," the female robot said.

Sasha shook her head, "I'm sorry, Circuit, but it's too dangerous. We can't risk anything happening to you after your accident."

"I made a full recovery; I am fine! I am going with you to look for Dr. Nefarious!" Circuit said, starting to get a bit mad.

"Uh-oh, this must be that rebellious stage I've been hearing about," Ratchet said, his ears lowering a bit.

"I don't think that's it, Ratchet..." Sasha folded her arms and saw the look on Circuit's face. It was actually full of determination instead of anger or sadness. She really wanted to go with them instead of being left on the ship, and Ratchet would most likely take her side and strengthen her argument. So the Cazar sighed and gave in to her own daughter. "Alright, fine, you can come with us. No point in keeping you locked up in this ship."

"Awesome!" Circuit said happily, her tail fighting its way out of her jacket as it started wagging. The robot gave an annoyed grunt and attempted to grab it so she could calm it down. When she failed to do so, she got so mad that she actually stomped on it in order to make it stop. Turned out that that was a huge mistake, and she was soon met with a great deal of pain. "OWWWW! Why did I do that?! Daddy!"

Sasha placed a nervous hand on her head as Ratchet got onto his knees and stroked Circuit's injured tail and told her that the damage wasn't that bad. She may have just made a huge mistake with allowing Circuit to go with them.

Several minutes later, Sasha told Ratchet that she needed to talk to him about their next destination, Planet Zeldrin, so Circuit had to leave. Ratchet told her to go and find Clank and spend time with him until they had to leave. Circuit agreed and left the Bridge, only to realize that she had no idea where Clank was right now. It was 10:45, so he wouldn't be in the cafeteria eating breakfast (which totally forgot to eat) or still in bed. Clank wasn't like Ratchet, so he wouldn't be messing around in the VR training course or in the shooting range. The only place that he could possibly be in was the hangar, and even that didn't make any sense. But, it was the only that Circuit had, so she went with it. Turned out that her weak guess was correct, because Clank was sitting on Aphelion with a book (of course). He was such a nerd, and that was why Circuit loved him.

Circuit walked over to the ship and jumped up as high as she could, but she didn't come close to grabbing the ship. She would fly up, but her wings were currently out of commission as they recovered from the Fusion Bomb incident. So she called out, "I would like a little help, please!"

She heard the sound of metal hitting metal as Clank jumped a little and crawled to where she was. He looked over the side with a friendly look on his face, and then he reached out a hand. Circuit jumped up and grab it; Clank then pulled her up with an impressive amount of strength. "What are you doing in here, Circuit?"

"Ratchet and Sasha kicked me out of the Bridge so they could talk about some Zeldrin planet or something like that," Circuit said, standing on the ship.

"Planet Zeldrin?" Clank asked with a confused look. Then he remembered something. "Oh! That is right, we are heading there for Nefarious Sweeps. Are you going to be alright while you stay here by yourself?"

"Oh, I am not staying here, I am going with you!"

"Wh-What?!" The male robot shouted. Circuit was going with them to Zeldrin? That was a terrible idea! She could get hurt on that planet! His eyes narrowed into an angry position. "I cannot believe that Ratchet would allow you to do that! But surely Ms. Phyronix will do something about it-"

"Sasha was the one who said that I could go," Circuit interrupted.

Clank froze for a few moments, a shocked look glued to his face. He then turned around and put his hands on his face and slid his fingers down his face, "Oh my goodness. They should know better than to let you out on a dangerous planet so soon after you accident."

"You worry too much. I will be fine, Clank. Besides, do you really think that Ratchet would let anything happen to me? You know how protective he is."

"Well...I suppose that is a fair point...but I still cannot help but worry."

Circuit rolled her eyes and playfully hugged Clank from the back, "Is worrying all you ever do anymore? Is there any happiness in that metal casing of yours?"

"Every once in awhile, yes."

"Well, when does the happiness come out?"

"U-Umm...y-y-you know...at times..." Clank hid his face as it turned bright red, "t-times like...like u-u-uhh...times like n-now. Wh-when y-you...when you are here." Circuit tilted her head a bit, and her face seemed to turn a little red. Then she smiled. It was always so cute when Clank became embarrassed about his own feelings about her. It seemed like a proper nerd reaction. But his red face and embarrassment as he looked over his shoulder at her with a curious expression. "Wait a minute, why did you come looking for me in the first place?"

"Ratchet sent me," Circuit replied, letting go of Clank. She sat down and placed her back on the Aphelion's windshield. "He told me to spend time with you until we get to Zelbin-"

"Zeldrin."

"Yes, that planet. I did not understand at first, but now I think I know why he had me do this. If you think about it, we have barely seen each other since I came back to life. Ratchet must have wanted to fix that."

"That does seem like something that Ratchet would do," Clank said with a nod, also sitting down. A few awkwardly silent moments passed by before Clank asked, "So what do you want to do?"

Circuit smiled a bit, "You can keep reading if you want to. Meanwhile, I need to fix my jacket." The female robot then grabbed her black jacket and pulled it off, making Clank's antenna flash a few times. The male robot covered his eyes and his face turned an incredible shade of red. It was sort of awkward to see Circuit without her jacket, but she looked nice in just a t-shirt and skirt. However, he felt like that looking at her with just those articles of clothing on would be very rude, not to mention the sight of her bare tail. But Circuit tapped him on the shoulder and giggled, "What are you doing, Clank? You do not have to cover your eyes. I am still wearing clothes."

"S-Sorry, but it is so strange seeing you without your jacket on. And it feels like that I am invading your privacy. You do whatever you need to do to your jacket, I will just sit here quietly."

Circuit sighed, "You can be overly-polite sometimes. Take your hands off of your eyes."

"I will not."

"Then I will make you."

Clank let out a small giggle, then he tried to sound impressive, "Honestly Circuit, I am an intergalactic hero who has been through more than anyone could imagine. I am sure that I can endure whatever you have to throw at me."

Circuit gave Clank an unamused look as he tried to use his hero status as a defense. Then the unamused expression turned into a playful one as she pounced on the male robot and tickled him, making him jump a little and then laugh. Circuit was relieved that Clank was laughing because she had never tickled anyone before, so she wasn't sure if she was doing it right. But her friend's laughter reassured her. However, it didn't last for long because Clank quickly grabbed her wrists and sat up, pushing her back, trapped giggles escaping his mouth.

"Okay, you win! I will not cover my eyes anymore! Just promise to not tickle me anymore, I hate it when people do!"

Circuit smiled and said that she promised, making the male robot sigh in relief. Circuit then turned back around and giggled a bit. Now she knew where she got her ticklishness from. She really was a clone of Clank.

 _Meanwhile..._

"So we'll land on this platform and check throughout this area. There are empty buildings and shacks, so we'll have to check all of those. Also, we'll have to watch out for any stray sentry bots. We'll have to bring some weapons and gadgets in case we run into any serious danger...Ratchet?" Sasha turned around and saw that Ratchet wasn't even looking at the map of Zeldrin. Her ears lowered and an annoyed expression grew on her, "Ratchet, are you even listening?"

"Huh?" Ratchet said, his ears twitching. Then he nodded, "Oh yeah...yeah, I'm listening."

Sasha placed her hands on her waist and gave the Lombax an 'I know that you're lying to me' look, which made his ears lower in defeat. Then the Cazar became curious, "What's got you so deep in thought anyway? You usually love it when I talk about using cool weapons and gadgets. So...what's the deal?"

"Sorry, Sasha. I was just thinking about...about Circuit." Ratchet had actually been thinking about Circuit for quite awhile now, but he thought that a repeated lecture about Planet Zeldrin would allow him to go a bit deeper into thought. But it looked that that Sasha had caught him. But she now looked more worried than angry.

"Why are you thinking about Circuit? Is there something wrong with her?" Sasha asked in a concerned voice.

"No, she's fine. I was just thinking about her...about how she's changed. I've never really put much thought into it, but now that I realize how much her personality has changed, I just can't help but think about how bizarre it is."

"What do you mean? Are you telling me that Circuit didn't act like how she does now?"

"Well, sort of. But I don't think that you want to hear about this," Ratchet said, folding his arms. Sasha noticed that, for moment, sadness flashed in the Lombax's eyes, which only made her more concerned. She stood next to him.

"I think that I can take it. Now what was Circuit like before I met her? What's this change that you're talking about?"

Ratchet stayed silent for a few moment, his breaths becoming a bit heavier. Then he closed his eyes and sighed, "When I first had Circuit, within the first few days that she stayed with Clank and I, I couldn't help but instantly like her. She was a really nice robot with an amazing talent for drawing."

"And how is that any different to how she is now...?"

"I'll tell you how. We saw Circuit as a great robot, but...she saw herself as a worthless piece of trash. She was extremely submissive, and she had no confidence in herself whatsoever. She always saw herself as a burden to others no matter what she did or what people said about her. Not to mention that she was one of the most antisocial people that I've ever met. She almost had a panic attack when I told her that I was taking her to meet a friend of mine. Circuit was constantly scared, no matter what was going on around her..." Ratchet paused for a moment, a look of regret on his face. Sasha looked surprised at this news. Circuit never told her about any of this, and she was sort of glad that she didn't. Ratchet took a few deep breaths and continued, his voice drastically lower, "Then there was the day after Circuit attacked me. She ran away and Nefarious kidnapped her, but she managed to escape. When I found her...my god, Sasha, you should have seen her-actually, no...you wouldn't want to see her like that. Her eyes had no life in them, and her whole being seemed so cold and distant. She was so depressed, it was hard to look at. And this all happened before she..."

Sasha's hand kept its grip on Ratchet's shoulder as her ears lowered. She shook her head, "I...I had no idea that she was like that. I mean, she told me about everything that had happened to her, but I never gave a thought to how she felt during all of that. I wouldn't want to imagine Circuit being depressed...I'd never want to see that."

"That's why I'm glad about her personality today," Ratchet said, suddenly shaking off his sadness and smiling. "I've never seen Circuit so happy before. She's like a little kid now, and I love that. Though she does tend to act more mature around Clank than she does around me."

"Well yeah, how can she be mature when she's playing with her daddy?" Sasha said, folding her arms and smiling a big smugly.

The Lombax let out a breathy laugh and gave Sasha a look, "Hey, do you still think that I'm unfit for parenthood?"

"Well, I had my doubts before, but, now that I've actually seen you do the parenting..." Sasha sighed, but she was smiling, "I can't believe that I'm actually saying this but, Ratchet, you are a good father. Circuit genuinely loves you, and you raised her to be a good girl. She's...she's lucky to have a father like you...oh!" The Cazar walked over to the map as it began beeping. "We're almost there. Go and get everyone, okay?"

"Right," Ratchet said with a nod, and he left the Bridge. As he did, Sasha's words about Circuit being lucky because he's her father echoed in his head. The happy look on his face disappeared. Circuit was lucky to have him as her father...but Sasha didn't know what had happened between him and Circuit, and it kind of pained him knowing that she didn't know. But he couldn't tell her. If Circuit didn't tell her, then she must have not wanted her to know, which pained him even more. Ratchet felt like that he escaped punishment after hitting Circuit, and that just wasn't fair. Yes, he spent a few days feeling quite sad and he missed out on Circuit flying for the first time, but it just didn't feel right. Maybe spending a few hours on Zeldrin will help him clear his mind.

 _Back with Clank and Circuit..._

Circuit's tail twitched and shook around as Circuit herself fiddled with her jacket. She was shoving her hand into the plush Lombax tail of her jacket, grabbing the stuffing and tossing it out. A little fluffball that she threw behind her floated over to Clank, landing on the part of his face where his nose would be, making him sneeze. Circuit giggled at the sneeze and then continued what she was doing. Clank put down his book and looked at the female robot with curiosity.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"Taking all of the stuffing out of my jacket's Lombax tail," Circuit replied, getting the last of the stuffing out.

"Why would you do that? That will make that tail so flat and look unrealistic."

"I am not going to leave the tail part empty. I am just preparing it for a substitute."

"What do you mean?"

"Hold on a moment..." The purple eyes robot got rid of the rest of the stuffing, leaving the jacket tail completely empty. Satisfied with how empty it was, Circuit pulled the jacket around her shoulders. Then she reached behind her and gently grabbed her own tail, lining it up with the small hole in the backside of the jacket. When it was lined up perfectly, she slid the jacket over it, making her tail go into the empty Lombax tail. She then fully put her jacket on and stood up, making her tail swish back and forth a few times. It looked like an actual Lombax's tail. "There, now I won't have to shove it up my shirt or anything like that."

"That was a rather clever idea, Circuit," Clank said, observing the Lombax tail. "I know that Ratchet will be very impressed with it...?"

Both Clank and Circuit picked up the sound of footsteps in the hangar, and they spotted Ratchet walking towards them. Circuit felt her tail begin to wag, but Clank stopped it before it got out of control.

"There you two are," Ratchet said, resting his arms on Aphelion's hood. He saw something moving on Circuit's jacket, "Nice tail, Circuit."

The small robot giggled a bit and pulled her hood over her head, the plush Lombax ears attached to it standing up. Clank then asked, "Why were you looking for us, Ratchet?"

"Because Sasha said that we're almost at Zeldrin, and she wanted me to round everyone up. Also, I have to go and pick up some weapons in case we run into any hostile citizens. Circuit, I want you to take your machete, okay?" Circuit nodded her head, and Ratchet grabbed the two robots, taking them out of the hangar. "Alright, let's head to the arsenal room. I don't want all of the good weapons to be taken."

After leaving the hangar, the three went to the arsenal room where Ratchet picked up his Omniwrench and a Negotiator, and Circuit retrieved her machete. It had been awhile since she had even held it, but it felt so familiar the moment it went into her hand. After that, they gathered up a group of soldiers and reported back to Sasha, who was getting the dropship ready. She took a moment to make sure that Circuit really wanted to go with them, and she said yes. Then everyone loaded up onto the dropship and it took off towards Zeldrin. Clank and Circuit looked out the window the whole time. Well, it was mostly Circuit looking, Clank was just there because he found the need to keep her company, even in a ship full of people. But, as they landed on Zeldrin, Ratchet took the male robot away from his friend and placed him on his back. Sasha volunteered to carry Circuit around in her arms so Ratchet wouldn't have to carry so much stuff.

The dropship landed on a rocky platform; dust and dirt flew everywhere as it hit the ground. The soldiers marched out with their blasters drawn as the ship door opened. Sasha walked to the front of the ship, Circuit sitting in her arms.

"Alright, troops, we've got a lot of area to cover. You've all been assigned a part of the area to search, so get to it. Report back here in three hours. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!" All of the soldiers said in unison. Then they dispersed, each of them heading towards their own search areas. Circuit shifted in Sasha's arms and looked up at her.

"So what do we do?"

"We're going to stay around here and keep watch on the dropship. You never know when someone's going to sneak in and steal your ship. But, I bet that sounds boring to you, so you can take a look around if you want to."

Sasha put Circuit down on the ground, her small metal feet hitting the solid rock ground, and she went over to Ratchet so she could talk with him. Circuit turned around and observed the area that she was in. This planet was even close to being as nice as Pokitaru or Zanifar. It was all musty, with rock and dirt everywhere, dark skies, and scrap metal scattered everywhere. But there was something interesting in sight: a small, broken up shack that was on the other side of the cliff. A small adventurous mood suddenly came upon the small robot, and she started making her way towards the shack. When she was roughly fifteen feet away from the dropship, Sasha stepped forward from his position and called out.

"C-Circuit! Don't wander too far, alright?"

"Yes, mommy!" Circuit called back, but there was still a worried expression on Sasha's face. Ratchet noticed this and looked over his shoulder at Clank.

"Heh, I knew that she would want to explore this place. But I don't want her getting hurt. Can you go keep an eye on her?" He asked somewhat quietly. The small robot nodded and detached from his harness, following the path that Circuit had taken.

Clank trotted over to Circuit, who had dropped down onto a lower ledge. He was curious about why she was down here and where she was going. She seemed confident in going to a certain destination rather than wandering about the place. So he quickly grabbed her shoulder and hoisted himself next to her. Circuit was startled for a moment, but she looked happy when she saw who it was that had grabbed her.

"Hello, Clank."

"Circuit, where are you going? It is not like you to just wander off," Clank said.

"Well, I saw an old metal shack, which should be around the corner, and I became curious."

"You could have at least informed one of us about what you were doing. You should have seen the look on Sasha's face when she did not find you right away."

The happy look on Circuit's face disappeared and changed into one that made her look like that she was in trouble, "I-I did not mean to worry anyone. Was Ratchet worried?"

"Of course not, he was supportive of you being adventurous."

"Well...I am his child. He probably wants me to be adventurous like him. And speaking of adventuring..." Circuit slid up against the rock wall and peeked around the corner, spotting the old shack. Her tail twitched and she grabbed Clank's hand, "Come on, we should go and check it out!"

"W-Well Circuit, I do not know if..." Clank saw the excited look on Circuit's face. She was beaming, all because of an old run down shack that she was interested in. Giving in to her adventurous side, the male robot nodded, then he ran alongside her, still holding onto her hand. This girl was becoming more like Ratchet by the second. Which meant that he really needed to keep an eye on her.

The two robots traveled along the cliff's path, staying as close to the wall as possible (getting too close to the edge made Circuit feel dizzy). Clank decided to take the lead for Circuit's safety. He made sure that the path was clear and there were no parts of the trail that would crumble and drop then down the cliff. When they safely got across the most narrow part of the trail, they found themselves on a very large platform, very similar to the one that the dropship was on. Circuit nodded her head to the old metal shack and told Clank for them to go and see it.

"Perhaps we should consider taking safety precautions?" Clank said, grabbing Circuit's shoulder before she could take off.

"It is just a little shack, Clank. You do not need to worry," Circuit replied, grabbing the hand on her shoulder and pulling it with her.

The male robot sighed, "You sound so much like your father right now, it is somewhat frightening."

Clank and Circuit walked over to the old shack and went inside of it. The walls were made of metal, but the ground seemed to have sunk inside of the ground because it was mostly made of dirt. Circuit asked Clank if he had a guess about why the shack was so trashed...and halfway into the ground. He guessed that time did the small place in, and it just fell apart on its own. Somewhat unsatisfied with the answer, Circuit checked the metal of the shack. It wasn't the sturdiest alloy that was out there, no wonder this place fell apart. After several more minutes of observing the shack, Clank told Circuit that they should make their way back to Ratchet and Sasha, fearing that they would start worrying about their long absence. Though she wanted to stay out and explore some more, the female robot agreed, and they climbed over a small pile of metal that blocked the shack's entrance. The two began walking back towards the narrow path before Clank froze in his place. Circuit, who had been holding on to Clank's hand, jerked backwards and looked at him.

"What is it, Clank? Why did you stop?"

But he didn't speak a word after Circuit asked, but there was a reason why he stopped. For a moment, for the slightest moment, Clank had felt the presence of something...something Zoni-like. He wondered why Circuit didn't feel it because, like him, she was part Zoni. But, then again, she had only recently became apart of the Zoni species, so she probably couldn't sense things as well as him. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that there was some of their species near them. But what could it be...?

 _Grrrr..._

The two robots quickly turned around as they picked up the sound of growling. Then Circuit latched onto Clank in fear as a robotic creature came crawling out from behind the shack that they were just in. If they were to describe this creature, they would have to say a robotic wolf. Its eyes were an eerie golden color that seemed to overpower both of their calming purple and brilliant green. It snarled at them, baring its sharp metal teeth. Clank was very confused about why this creature was here. There were no robot wolfs on Zeldrin! Why was there on here? He shook the curiosity off, now was not the time for that. He slowly grabbed Circuit's hand, which was shaking with fear.

"Circuit, go get Ratchet and Sasha," he said quietly. "Move very slowly so you do not startle it."

Circuit nodded and forced herself to let go of Clank. She moved backwards slowly like he had said, trying not to make any sudden movements. But, as she back up, her metal foot stepped on a stick, making a snapping noise. The wolf's eyes flashed and it growled loudly, then it ran for Circuit, who yelled in fear. Clank tried to act fast and get the wolf's attention. He grabbed the largest rock that he could find and launched it at the metal shack, making a loud 'clang' noise. The wolf stopped before it reached Circuit and turned to look at Clank, who was waving his arms and saying 'over here!'. The metal wolf growled deeply as it stalked its new distraction. Clank tried to look determined as it got closer to him, but he honestly had no idea what to do now. His moves would have no use against a big dog like this. But the big dog's moves seemed to work on him as it hit him hard with its clawed paw. Clank went flying into the wall of the metal shack, making Circuit give a little scream. The female robot had to do something, or else that wolf would kill Clank. But, first, she needed some defense, so she reached into her chest compartment and pulled out her machete. It had been a long time since she had used it, and she might be a bit rusty for using it. However, it was the only way that she could save Clank. Unless of course she called for backup, then she wouldn't even have to use her machete...!

Circuit went over to the narrow path and shouted, "RATCHET! SASHA!" There was no way that Ratchet wouldn't be able to hear that with those big ears of his. But now she had to fend off the wolf, who was scratching its ears annoyingly because of her shouting, and protect Clank. Speaking of Clank, he was currently struggling to get up off of the ground. That wolf had hit him really hard, but he should be fine after some nanotech. Circuit quickly ran over to him and attempted to help him up. "Clank, are you alright?"

"WATCH OUT!" He yelled as he quickly tackled her out of the way. The wolf had attempted to pounce on them, but Clank managed to get them out of the way in time, as well as give the wolf a good kick in the face. The two robots fell to the ground, causing pain for both of them. Clank looked at Circuit and prepared to ask if she was alright after falling, but the two panicked as the wolf recovered from being kicked in the face and began running towards them. The robots scrambled to get up and out of the way, but the wolf began its pounce before their processors could figure out what was going on. They both yelled in fear, preparing for the end. However, Circuit found herself grabbing her machete and swinging across blindly. Then everything seemed to go quiet. Very quiet. Circuit, who was gasping at an alarming rate, opened her eyes a little to see what was taking the wolf so long. It turned out that the wolf wasn't coming at all, because it was sprawled out on the ground, black blood pouring out of its neck.

She killed it.

Clank opened his eyes to see what was going on and also saw the dead wolf on the ground. He also saw the blood covered machete in Circuit's hand. He stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder (he had scratch marks there from being hit) and said with relief.

"Well...well done, Circuit. Well done..." Circuit said absolutely nothing, making the male robot concerned. He prepared to grab Circuit's hand, "Circuit?"

"Clank! Circuit!" Ratchet and Sasha came around the corner with weapons in their hands and panicked looks on their faces. Then their expressions grew into a surprised one when they saw a dead wolf on the ground and a bloody machete in Circuit's hand. After putting two and two together, Ratchet suddenly smiled and walked forward, but Sasha stayed where she was, still surprised. The Lombax put his Omniwrench on his shoulder. "Whoa, way to go Circuit! You really got that thing didn't you? A clear cut across the neck, very impressive...Circuit?"

Ratchet's ears lowered a bit as Circuit didn't move or say anything. Sasha came up behind the Lombax and looked at their daughter, wondering if she was all right. Then the three of them were startled as Circuit suddenly dropped her machete. Her knees suddenly gave out, and she began falling forward. But Ratchet quickly caught her before she could hit the ground. He turned her towards him so he could see her face, but there was was nothing to look at but two closed eyes. Circuit had passed out.

* * *

 **Well...that was intense. Circuit just killed something for the first time. Hard to imagine someone that cute and innocent killing something, huh? And the Zoni-like thing that Clank was detecting will be revealed in a later chapter.**

 **Also, we're slowly yet surely getting into the Clacuit chapters, which I know is something that y'all have been waiting for.**

 **And, speaking of Clacuit, looks like a certain robot couple is gonna need a Valentine's Day oneshot this weekend! I'll try to get it up on the 14th if I can, but I'm still trying to work out the plot of the oneshot, so it might be one or two days after. Either way it's gonna be a cute story! You guys know how I am with cute and feels story, they're my specialty!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	21. Chapter 21

Upon returning to the Phoenix, the entire ship seemed to have gone down mood wise. It was like a depressing darkness fell onto the whole starship. But the only person who seemed to be truly affected by it, and even believed to be the cause of it, was Circuit.

When Circuit came to inside the Hospital, she managed to escape to the bedroom connected to Ratchet's room, locking the door behind her. Ratchet, Sasha and Clank pounded on the door and told her to come out so they could talk, but she refused. In fact, she didn't say or do anything, she just remained silent no matter how much her parents yelled at her to open the door. Eventually, Sasha became fed up with the lack of her daughter's cooperation and declared that she was going to blast the door down. But Clank quickly stopped her and said that shooting the door would only frighten Circuit further, so the Cazar backed out on the idea. It was after several more minutes of begging Circuit to come out that the three finally gave up. They all ventured to the Bridge where they sat in silence for awhile. Though, every now and then, one of the three would go off and try to talk to Circuit again, and even bring her some food some times. But, whenever they checked on the food hours later, they would find it untouched.

Ratchet and Sasha were now sitting lazily around the Bridge, feeling a heavy and dark feeling that now surrounded the Phoenix. Sasha pretended to check the stats of the remaining planets in the Nefarious search while Ratchet messed around with his Omniwrench. There were a few specks of dirt on it, most likely collected from Zeldrin's ground, and he brushed them off. His ears then gave a hopeful twitch when he heard the doors to the Bridge open, but they settled down when the only thing the Lombax saw was one green eyed robot. He and Sasha looked at Clank.

"Any luck?" Ratchet asked. His ears lowered when the robot gave a sad shake of his head. The Lombax threw his back against the wall and let the top of his Omniwrench hit the ground. At this point he was more annoyed or frustrated instead or worried or concerned. "I swear to Orvus, she's gonna die in that room!"

"Don't say that!" Sasha said with a somewhat offended expression.

"Ratchet, you know better than to joke about Circuit and death!" Clank yelled. "Besides, you know why she is upset."

"Yeah...yeah, I do know..." Ratchet said as he calmed down. He sat himself in a chair and placed a hand on his head.

"I still don't get it. Why exactly is Circuit so upset? She didn't do anything wrong. In fact, she saved someone! She saved you, Clank. So why is she like this?" Sasha asked.

"You don't get it," the Lombax said, looking at his friend. "Circuit's never killed anything before."

"What? But she's your daughter! She's had to have killed something in her lifetime."

"Nope, not one thing. Circuit isn't exactly one for killing or even destroying. You know what she's like. Could you imagine a little girl like her killing something on purpose?"

Sasha thought about it for a moment. She imagined Circuit in front of a burning town, several dead bodies sprawled on the ground, and blood splattered across her clothes and machete. The Cazar quickly shook the image out her head. She did not want to imagine that ever again. She was wrong, Circuit shouldn't have to kill anything, daughter of an intergalactic hero or not. She was just too innocent to kill things. Circuit was a creator, not a destroyer, and she had just destroyed something for the first time. No wonder she was so upset.

A thought suddenly came to Sasha about the way that Circuit was acting right now. She looked at Ratchet, "Hey Ratchet?"

"Huh?"

"The way that Circuit is acting right now...is this...is this like how she acted after she attacked you when you first had her?"

Both Ratchet and Clank looked at the Cazar, miserable looks coming onto them. Sasha then regretted saying anything. She knew that both of them were now thinking of all the times that they saw Circuit depressed in order to compare it with how she was acting now. After several tense filled moments, Ratchet nodded.

"Yeah, this is what it was like...and it's as hard to watch as it was back then."

Clank nodded in agreement, "Circuit has been so happy lately. It is quite painful to see her suffer from this depression-like state."

"Do you think that she'll feel better soon?" Sasha asked.

"Don't know," Ratchet said. "Last time she was depressed, it didn't end until she...she died."

"Can you _please_ stop bringing that up? I don't want to think about Circuit dying!"

"Hey, you didn't have to witness it!" The Lombax snapped, his remark making Clank lower his head.

"Whatever," Sasha said, folding her arms and turning away. Her tone and face then softened. "I just hope that Circuit feels better soon..."

"There is no need to worry, Ms. Phyronix," Clank said. "I am sure that Circuit will start acting like herself again soon."

* * *

 _A cliff covered in sharp rocks, broken down shacks and buildings scattered throughout the area, a sign that read 'caution, wolf territory', an angry wolf, and a sharp blade._

 _A wolf crept out of its den, several of its pups watching it. The wolf charged forward, several of the sharp rocks pointing towards what it was after. It barked and growled ferociously, showing off its razor sharp teeth and soul piercing yellow eyes. It bounced at its target, but the target raised a sharp blade and slit the creature's throat. The wolf fell to the ground, blood, black covering the ground. The target raised its machete in front of it, the silver and black stained surface becoming enveloped in a violet light. And in the reflection of the silver parts was a blood covered Circuit._

 _"I have killed it...and I am not afraid to kill again."_

 _'Circuit' rushed towards the wolf's den, and the last thing that was seen was the faces of the pups._

 _SLASH!_

"NO! I do not want to...!"

Circuit shot straight up in her bed, nearly startling herself in the process. She placed a hand on her chest and let out a relieved sigh. It was just another nightmare...another painful, blood filled nightmare. This one seemed a lot more violent than all of the other ones that she had. It was like they were getting more and more intense with every nap, like that her own mind was tormenting her. But she deserved every single one of these nightmares. What she did was unforgivable, and neither her or her mind would forgive her.

The small robot let out another sigh and hung her head, but she quickly brought it back up when she saw something very gross. There was a large black stain on the bed comforter, and because she didn't have a can of oil to spill, the stain could only mean one thing: she had wet the bed. This brought everything in Circuit, her confidence, her self-esteem, everything that she liked about herself, down. In the robot race, leaking oil in the same fashion that organics urinate was considered extraordinarily shameful. Circuit, in a small fit of rage, grabbed the comforter and threw it to the other side of the bed, then she buried her face into his hands. Her life seemed to be crumbling down with every minute. First the incident with Ratchet, then the Fusion Bomb, Zeldrin, the nightmares, and now wetting the bed. She was doing bad at living for a second time. She didn't deserve the second chance...she should have just stayed dead.

Circuit kept her face in her hands and slowly began to slip away with each minute passing by. Until, eventually, she fell back to sleep. Except the place that she was dropped in was much more different. She was in the same black room that she was in when she was getting her tail and Robo-Wings installed. Strange, she never came here when she was simply sleeping. What was the meaning of this?

 _"You should have just stayed dead? Are you having a rough time, or are you just stupid?"_

 _Circuit's tail twitched as she picked up a single voice coming from behind her. That voice...she knew that voice! But it was impossible...he was dead. But that voice was undeniably his. So, with high hopes, the female robot quickly turned around so she could locate the source of the voice. She jumped though when she saw a glowing blue apparition floating several inches off the ground. The body wasn't what she expected, but the eyes were. Two big blood red eyes...a small shining goatee...it was really him! It was-_

 _"Klunk!" Circuit said with both happiness and surprise as she saw her brother floating a few feet away from her. The spirit smiled a bit and nodded, confirming that it was indeed him. She expected herself to be all weirded out and full of questions about how his spirit was here, but she guessed that the Connection was still in play. Klunk never said that the Connection went away after death. So instead of overwhelming her brother with a bunch of 'how are you here' questions, she simply asked: "What are you doing here?"_

 _"Well, I was just floating by the the spiritual spectrum when I thought that I would come and see you. I could sense a great amount of negative emotion coming from you, so I wanted to see what the problem was. I must say, I'm quite surprised about what you did."_

 _"O-Oh, you...you saw that..." the female said, hanging her head a bit. "I know that I am horrible for doing it..."_

 _"Ugh, I thought that by now you would have fixed your self confidence issue," Klunk said, folding his arms. "Look, Error-...Circuit, you didn't do anything wrong. You killed the wolf because you wanted to save Clank and yourself-"_

 _"That may be, but I still killed it! I killed an innocent creature! I am a monster-" Circuit cried as she grabbed both sides of her head and saw the image of the bloody wolf. But Klunk quickly interrupted her._

 _"YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER!" He yelled, infuriated with his sister's blaming of herself. But he calmed down when he remembered that yelling only made situations worse. So he took a deep breath and continued, "You are not a monster, you are just a little girl who made a mistake."_

 _"Mistake or not...my mind will not let me forget what I did. I have nightmares about it. Nightmares that will not let me wake up until it is over. They scare me..."_

 _"That is why you have friends to comfort you in your time of need. But, you locked them out of your room, so you being scared and all alone is your fault. Your friends are trying to help you, Circuit, and you need to accept their help. Being distant isn't going to help at all. If I had the opportunity to receive help from friends or even have some friends, I would accept it in a heartbeat. I accepted your help, Circuit-"_

 _"Yeah, and you died because of it," Circuit said with a regretful tone._

 _"W-Well, uhh..." Klunk stammered, caught off by the surprisingly good point. "E-Even though I died, I got to experience what it was like to be a good guy. And I must admit, it was quite nice. Still feels nice in the afterlife. The point is is that you have friends who want to help you and you should let them. You could either accept and become happy, or decline and have your nightmares comfort you. It's your choice."_

 _Circuit pondered what Klunk said for a few moments. Open the door and let her friends in...or keep it shut and live in terror and regret. It seemed like an obvious choice for most, but it was pretty hard for her. It was true that letting her friends help her through this tough time would indeed help her and probably make her happy, but that would be like forgiving herself for killing an innocent animal. She placed her fists on her head; why did this decision have to be so hard to make? She then sighed. Klunk was right, she really did have issues...but...he was right. Ratchet, Sasha and Clank were trying to help her and she wouldn't let them, which was only making matters worse-_

 _"Someone is coming," Klunk said, looking off into an empty distance. "I'm going to leave now. It's up to you to make your choice."_

 _"W-Wait, will I get to see you again?" Circuit asked in a panic._

 _"Only if I get bored and you happen to be sleeping. But I sometimes like to hang around you. But, when you are Clank are about to do something in a...you-know-what fashion, could you please warn me? Make a do not disturb sign or something that can give me a hint at what's about to go down!"_

 _"Heh-heh, no problem," the female said, her face turning a bit red. Then she frowned as Klunk floated away into the darkness, she didn't want to say bye to her brother so quickly, but then she remembered what he said. It was like that he had been with her ever since she had come back to life, watching over her like some sort of guardian angel. But thinking about Klunk's spirit suddenly became distant to her as her vision was drowned in white..._

...

...

Circuit opened her real eyes and found herself in the same position as when she had fallen asleep. That was certainly strange; Klunk had woken her up somehow. She didn't know that he had that kind of power. But she wished that he had the power to bring the determined feeling from the dream to her, because she was feeling down again.

The little robot raised her head when she remembered what Klunk said: someone was coming. But who was it?

 _Knock knock_

"Circuit?" Ratchet said as he entered the bedroom and went to her door. In his hand was plate with one of his salmon sandwiches that he had just made. "I thought that you might be hungry so I made you a sandwich..." He received no response. Shuffling his feet awkwardly, the Lombax placed the plate on a nearby stand. "Okay...I'll leave it here for you in case you want it later." Several silent moments went by and Ratchet's ears lowered, a look of concern coming onto his face. He looked around the room something, anything, that could do something for Circuit. He got his wish when he located Little Ratchey lying on the bed. Ratchet walked over and grabbed the stuffed animal and went back to Circuit's door, "So...Little Ratchey is pretty lonely out here all by himself. Maybe you can come out and make him feel better?"

When no answer or voices came, Ratchet sighed. At least he tried. He set Little Ratchey down on the floor, right outside of the other bedroom. That way Circuit could see it when she finally came out. The Lombax looked at the door sadly and turned around and walked towards the exit. Meanwhile, Circuit stared at the bedroom door, wondering what she should do. It was like Klunk said, the decision was up to her whether to let her friends in or not. But it seemed that she had already made up her mind, and she climbed down onto the floor, walked to the door and placed a hand on the door knob. It was time to just let it out, she thought to herself as she opened the door.

Ratchet stood there without moving a muscle as Circuit stepped out of her room. The small robot looked awful. Her eyes were barely lit and her clothes were messed up and somewhat dirty. But what she looked like wasn't what Ratchet was focusing on, it was what she was doing. Circuit, after stepping out of the room, took notice of Little Ratchey sitting on the floor and stuck her hand out, lightly running her finger along the top of its left ear. It was then that her arm fell to her side and tears began to flood her eyes and soon running down face. A look of extreme pity formed on Ratchet's face as he walked over to her.

"Hey," Ratchet said in a calm and quiet voice. He knelt down and placed his hands on Circuit's shoulders. "Hey now..."

"I...I...I did not mean to kill it!" Circuit cried out. "I did not mean to kill the wolf!" She brought both of her hands up to her eyes and attempted to wipe the many tears away, "It was an accident, I swear!"

"I don't doubt that it was an accident," the Lombax said. "I know you, Circuit. You would never hurt a living creature on purpose, let alone kill one."

The small robot seemed unconvinced as she sniffled (still no nose, though), "I...I am a bad robot."

"No you're not. You're one of the nicest robots that I've ever met. Possibly _the_ nicest. You're just a bit shaken up from Zeldrin, that's why you're feeling this way. You didn't do anything wrong, Circuit. You're not a bad robot." Ratchet took a moment to think of himself, then he remembered something. "Actually, now that I think about it, you're a hero. If you didn't do what you did, then Clank would have been killed. You saved him." Circuit let what Ratchet said sink into her opinion of herself. That was right...she did save Clank...all on her own. If she hadn't killed the wolf, then Clank would have died. She had dedicated her first time living to protecting Clank by taking the Hexzar Virus from him, and now she killed a wolf for him. Ratchet was right, she was a hero. She hid the tiniest smile. She really was Ratchet's daughter. But of course she wasn't going to brag about it, that would just be rude. The small robot jumped and was launched out of her thoughts as Ratchet took one his gloves off and grabbed her hand. He frowned, "Your metal is freezing. Come on, you can warm up on the bed."

Ratchet kept holding Circuit's hand as he stood up and walked her to the bed (Circuit jerking back so she could grab Little Ratchey), and he thought of how long it had been since he had done this. The last time that he held Circuit's hand was over one year ago, when he was walking her back into the apartment building. After that, he had just started carrying her around instead. But holding her hand right now reminded him about how nice it was.

Ratchet picked Circuit up and placed her on the bed, then he shoved her under the blanket. She struggled under them for a moment, trying to find her way out, then she poked her head out, Little Ratchey's following. The small robot looked at Ratchet's ungloved hand, the two orange stripes standing out on the golden fur. She pulled her arm out from under the covers and grabbed Ratchet's hand, feeling the soft fur on her metal.

"Everyone's worried about you, ya' know."

Circuit looked up at Ratchet, who was actually looking a bit sad. She shifted on the bed and brought Little Ratchey closer, "O-Oh, well...I did not mean to make anyone worry. Worrying people seems to be the only thing that I do nowadays..."

"Well, to be fair, you didn't really have any control over the things that have happened to you that make people worry. You couldn't get away from the Fusion Bomb, you weren't the one who made the wolf mad, you couldn't control me when I slapped-..." Ratchet trailed off as he nearly tapped into the memory of the horrible event. He didn't need to look at Circuit to know that she had an uncomfortable expression. He suddenly stood up and walked over to the stand where he had set the plate down. Circuit guessed that he was going to ask her if she was hungry, but her heart stopped when his eye seemed to have caught something in the other room. Ratchet went into the other bedroom with a curious look on his face. The small robot sat up on the bed, worry coming onto her systems. Please do not notice it...please do not notice it! But, much to her dismay, Ratchet came out of the bedroom with the bed's blanket in his hands. He was staring at the large black stain. He looked up at Circuit, "Circuit, you...you wet the..."

"I-I know! I am so sorry! It was just that I have having a nightmare and...and...oh god!" The small robot buried her face into her hands. "I am officially a disgrace...what is Clank going to think?"

"Clank's not going to know." Circuit looked up at Ratchet, who was wrapping up the blanket. He went over to a nearby closet and dug through it, soon pulling out a blanket that looked identical to the one that Circuit had soiled. The Lombax laid the new comforter on the bed, messing it up a bit to make it look like that Circuit had been sitting under it. Then he picked up the soiled blanket and whispered to Circuit, "Come on, I need you to stand guard outside the laundry room while I wash this. No stain, no worries, right?"

Circuit looked at the Lombax with disbelief. He was going to keep her uncontrollable act of shame a secret? Most people would learn to look down on a robot who had wet themselves, but it appeared that Ratchet was much different from them. "Ratchet, I-"

Ratchet's ears twitched as the doorknob to the bedroom began turning. He quickly chucked the soiled blanket into the closet and shut it before the door opened. Sasha entered the room, "Ratchet? Are you in here? What's taking you so long-!" The Cazar's ears perked up when she saw two big violet eyes sitting on the bed. "Circuit!"

"Hello," Circuit said innocently as her mother came over.

"Circuit, sweetheart, are you alright?" Before Circuit could answer, Sasha pulled her into a hug. "I've been worried about you all day."

"I am fine, mommy. I am sorry that I worried you."

"What made you come out of your room? We've been trying all day but you wouldn't budge."

"Oh, I came out because of my br-" Circuit stopped herself. She couldn't say that Klunk, her brother, had convinced her to come out. Her parents might think that she was crazy. So she tried to fix her sentence, "I mean, daddy. M-My daddy convinced me to come out."

"Really?" Sasha looked at Ratchet, who was simply standing there with his back against the closet door. She was amazed. She knew that Ratchet was a good father, but she never expected him to pull Circuit out of her depression in a matter of minutes. Now that's some impressive parenting. The Cazar wished that she could be as strong as a parent as Ratchet.

Ratchet decided that it was about time that Circuit ate something now that she was calmed down. He grabbed the sandwich that he had made for her and brought it over. "Here ya go, Circuit."

Circuit reached up to grab it, but Sasha quickly slapped the Lombax's hand away, "Are you crazy?! Don't give her that!"

"Why not?" Ratchet asked.

"It's organic food! Since when has a robot ever liked organic food? She'll puke if she eats that-" Sasha's eyes went wide as she saw Circuit eating the sandwich that was still in Ratchet's hand. She saw the Cazar staring at her and gave a guilty look.

"Sorry, but I am really hungry..."

"I...I..wh-what...what in the..."

"Heh, that's my girl," the Lombax said smugly as he placed a hand on top of Circuit's head. Then he looked at Sasha with an 'in-your-face' look, "Score one for the Lombax."

Sasha, in a fit of defeated anger, grab Ratchet's face and pushed him off of the bed (Ratchet yelling "crap!" on his way down to the floor). Circuit shoved the rest of the sandwich into her mouth and looked over the side of the bed, asking the Lombax if he was alright, but neither Ratchet or Sasha could figure out what she was saying with all of the food in her mouth. Sasha told her to not talk with her mouthful ("you really are your father's child"). Ratchet rose from the floor with an unamused look on his face.

"I'm going to the laundry room..." he walked away but walked straight back, grabbing Circuit, "and I'm takin' this with me!"

"Alright, you do that," Sasha said, standing up and brushing herself off. This was a downside of having Ratchet stay at the Phoenix: he sheds on the bedspread. "You two have fun. I need to go put together the new search teams for the Nefarious Sweep. I need to get all of the soldiers out of the ship at some point, or else they're going to..." The Cazar trailed off and her ears suddenly shot straight upwards, Ratchet's doing the same thing. There was a loud siren sounding outside. Ratchet looked at Sasha was confusion.

"The alarm...?"

As if on cue, Clank burst into the room, his brilliant green eyes filled with panic. Tired from the long run, he grabbed onto the doorframe in order to keep himself propped up. Then he looked at his friends, "We are under attack!"

* * *

 **Alright, long chapter! Always so satisfying to finish.**

 **Looks like that Sasha is now questioning her role as a parent because of Ratchet's superior parenting skills.**

 **Oh, and uh...the Starship Phoenix is under attack...so yeah, that's happening.**

 **Also, I know that I said that we were moving into the Clacuit chapters, but I drained all of my Clacuit writing energy into my Clacuit Valentine's Day oneshot, "Free My Chained Heart". So if y'all want some Clacuit right now, so read that oneshot. Meanwhile, my Clacuit writing energy should be restored and released within the next few chapters.**

 **And, for those of you waiting, I PROMISE that I will update Little Brother 2 next! I just really wanted to get Chapter 20 and 21 up! But Chapter 3 of Little Brother 2 is on the way, I swear it!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	22. Chapter 22

_Several hours earlier..._

"What. Happened?!" Dukes yelled as Wyre came into his office bearing a dead wolf. There was a clear cut across its neck, and its silver fur was stained with blood. Wyre grimaced.

"The retrieval mission failed, that's what happened! One of the Zoni...they killed one of my wolves," the doctor explained. "I'm not going to lie but...I never expected such a small robot to be so freaking strong."

"One of the Zoni robots killed your wolf?! The Zoni Prince must be much stronger than I had anticipated-"

"It was the girl," Wyre interrupted.

"What?" Dukes said with am angry and confused expression.

"It was the girl Zoni that did this. She nearly decapitated the wolf with just a machete, all while protecting the Prince."

Dukes put his hands together and let that news sink in for a moment. The purple Zoni, who was just a little girl, had nearly taken the head off of a wolf. She was obviously much stronger than he thought. This girl must have been a warrior of the highest strength and honor. But, he wasn't going to let a little girl get in his way or his goal. The moderately peaceful retrieval mission had failed, and that annoyed the living hell out of him. He wasn't going to sit back and take the failure, he wanted to get his hands on the Zoni right now! No more waiting! It was time to take some...drastic measures. Dukes turned around and began looking into the prisoner log of Zordoom Prison.

"Well, if the Zoni want a fight, then they're going to get one."

"Sir?" Wyre asked.

"I think it's time that some out the prisoners get some exercise. Let's say by...attacking the Starship Phoenix."

"Starship Phoenix?! Lucius, that ship is full of Q-Force soldiers! There's just gonna be chaos if we attack the ship!"

"Exactly," Dukes said with a smirk. "And while the soldiers, their captain, and that Lombax that you told me about are fighting off the baddies, you'll sneak off with your pack and hunt down the two Zoni."

Wyre pondered this for a moment. It seemed like a solid plan, but the soldiers on the Phoenix were tougher than they looked. Still, it wasn't the fight that mattered, it was the Zoni. As long as he managed to nab the two, then the mission would be a success. The doctor nodded, "I like that plan. But...what if the Lombax has the Zoni with him? He would never let the two out of his sight in a battle."

"Then improvise. I honestly don't care what you do; I just want those Zoni! I've waited too long to find at least one! So you better come back with both of them, even if you have to kill someone!" Dukes snapped.

Wyre raised his hands defensively, and then nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. We leave within the hour. Gather the prisoners I have picked out and get the ship prepped. It's time that we attack!"

 _Present time..._

Ratchet, Sasha, Clank and Circuit ran out into the hangar as the alarm rang throughout the Phoenix. Some soldiers were standing around and wondering what the situation was, while the rest were panicking and wondering what the situation was. Clank reported that some enemy ships were closing in at an alarming rate, and that they were in attack position. Sasha rounded up all of the soldiers in the area and told them to ready themselves, and to warn the soldiers in the other parts of the ship. It was when they left that Clank's antenna flashed. He turned his head to the right of the hangar.

"What is it, Clank?" Ratchet asked, the fur on the back of his neck standing up.

"Something is coming this way at a rapid pace..."

The four stayed silent and tried to listen in to see if they could hear the object coming. They heard it alright, but only after it exploded.

 _BOOM!_

The Phoenix shook like it was in the middle of a magnitude eight earthquake. Ratchet instinctively got down on the ground and grabbed Clank and Circuit, pulling them both into a protective hold. Circuit screamed a bit as she heard the explosion, making the Lombax grasp them even tighter. After everything stopped shaking a became a bit calmer, Ratchet loosened his grip on the two. Clank seemed a bit shaken up, but it was nothing compared to Circuit. She was shaking like the ship was still shaking. Her heart was about to break out of her metal casing because it was pulsing so fast. Ratchet wanted to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be alright, but he was distracted by Clank's antenna flashing again.

"The ships are drawing nearer. Ratchet, I believe that they are going to board the ship!"

"What?!" Sasha yelled out. She then began contacting the other soldiers and ordered them to come to the hangar and to bring whatever weapon they could get their hands on. Clank climbed out of Ratchet's lap and stood in a way that made him look like that he was going to fight. Ratchet picked Circuit up and put him next to her and shook his head.

"Clank, take Circuit somewhere safe. She can't be here; it's too dangerous."

The male robot was about to protest, but it didn't take him more than a moment to realize that Ratchet was right. Circuit would be doomed if she stayed out here. So he grabbed her arm, "Come, Circuit, we must leave."

"B-But-!" Circuit tried to say something, but the ship was hit with another explosive, causing the group to jerk back and forth. The sound of engines could be heard right outside the hangar. They were about to break in. Ratchet nodded his head towards the exit.

"Go on, you two! Get out of here! We'll handle this! Clank, no matter what, keep Circuit safe!"

"Please be careful," Sasha said to the two as she began signalling in the other soldiers.

"And no matter what you hear, don't come out of hiding," the Lombax said as Clank handed him his Omniwrench. Another bang shook the Phoenix, and Ratchet's ears picked up the sound of footsteps. He snapped at the two robots, "Go, now!"

"But, Ratchet-" Circuit was interrupted by Clank grabbing her arm and pulling towards the exit. She tried to keep her ground, but having metal feet didn't really allow her to do that. But she still tried to fight Clank back as they were about leave the hangar. "Wait a minute!"

"There is no time, Circuit. We must leave and get you to a safe place!" Clank said. But Circuit pulled her arm out of his hand and pushed him back when he tried to grab her again, making the male fall onto his rear.

"Ooh! I am really sorry, Clank," Circuit said with an apologetic tone. She then whipped her head around and walked several feet away from the exit. There was something that she had to take care of before she left. It would take away some of her running energy, but she was not going to regret doing this. Her eyes locked on to Ratchet's Omniwrench. Her systems pulled up the 'Weapon Upgrade Encyclopedia' option and a glowing blue cylinder shined around her. Clank watched in awe as Circuit searched through the glowing encyclopedia and picked out the Omniwrench. She tapped on the wrench's picture and then threw her palms out. Focusing very hard, Circuit pretended that she was pushing a large boulder towards Ratchet's Omniwrench, and the cylinder around her turned into waves of wisps. If shot directly at the wrench, making the Lombax yelp. But he calmed down when his Omniwrench upgraded with the Firebomb Mod. Ratchet looked over his shoulder and at Circuit.

"Thanks, Circuit!"

Circuit gave a thumbs up, but then she quickly grabbed her knees and let out a large sigh. Upgrading weapons always made her so tired. She really needed to get some more practice in. After taking a moment to collect herself, Circuit went over to Clank, who had forgotten that she could upgrade weapons, and they both left. Meanwhile, Ratchet prepared for the people who were about to come on board while Sasha was staring at his Omniwrench with wide eyes. What in the world had just happened to it? How did it happen?

"Ratchet...did...did Circuit just...upgrade your weapon?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. You didn't know that she could do that?" Ratchet asked, waving his wrench around.

"No!"

"Oh, well...yeah, Circuit can upgrade weapons. Pretty cool, huh? Being friends with Zoni has its perks."

"A Zoni? What's a-!"

A huge explosion erupted in the hangar, and Ratchet and Sasha ran for cover. Sasha told the soldiers to report to the hangar now and to be prepared to fight. Ratchet peeked around his cover to see what exactly it was that they were dealing with. It was hard to see at first because of all the smoke, which the Lombax was currently choking on. But then his ears picked up the sound of mechanical whirs. At first, he thought that Clank and Circuit had come back to see what the noise was, which was something he specifically told them not to do. He was about to stand up and yell at the robots when a large 'clang' came from the giant smoke cloud. A large group of soldiers came into the hangar at that time, but Ratchet wasn't interested in telling them about what was happening. He got out of his cover spot and walked towards the smoke with caution. With his wrench raised, he called out to whoever might have been there.

"Who's there?"

There was a large silence that filled the hangar. The soldiers were silent, Sasha was silent, Ratchet was silent, the entire ship was silent. Fed up with the lack of intruder identity, Ratchet swung his wrench, sending several fireballs into the cloud of smoke. He didn't hear them hit anything. So maybe the coast was clear...!

 _CHINK!_

Ratchet quickly jumped out of the way as a large blade flew out of the smoke and pieced the floor. A chain rattled on the end of the blade, and then it tightened, making the blade fly back. Ratchet's ears twitched as he watched the weapon fly back to its owner. He knew those blades from somewhere. He had been almost killed by several kinds of blades before, but these ones were looking strangely familiar. But where had he seen them...! The Lombax's ears dropped as the smoke cleared. The sound of chains rattling caught his attention. He knew who the owner of the blades were, and the ugly green face was there to confirm it.

"Chainblade!" Ratchet yelled out as the criminal gladiator walked forward and twirled his blades around.

"Long time no see, Lombax!" Chainblade said as he pulled the chains back. "Nice to see that you're not dead yet."

"Why's that?" The Lombax asked, holding his Fire Bomb Wrench up and getting into a defensive stance.

"Because, ever since you beat me all those years ago, I've been dreaming of taking your head off myself!" The Thug launched the two blades at Ratchet, who managed to avoid the first one and launch the second one back with a fireball. Sasha came out of hiding and quickly pulled out a Combustor, and a group of soldiers had their various weapons at the ready. Ratchet smirked.

"Looks like you're outgunned, Chain. You wanna surrender now and go back to jail, or just go through a repeat of what happened 'all those years ago'?"

Chainblade suddenly erupted into laughter, which caught the Q-Force off guard. The Thug smiled at the group of soldiers, "Oh, you think I came alone? Oho, no. I brought some friends with me! And we only have a limited time out of our cells, so we'll have to make this massacre quick. Come on, fellas, let's get em!"

The Q-Force was startled by a swarm of Tyhrranoids that had come out of the holes in the wall. The soldiers began firing their blaster rapidly as the swarm, but their panicking made it hard to aim. Sasha went for any Tyhrranoids that got too close to the soldiers; she had to protect her troops. Meanwhile, Ratchet went for Chainblade and Chainblade went for Ratchet. Blades and fireballs flew back and forth, with only a few small hits managing to land. The hangar was plunged into war...and that was exactly what he wanted. He as in a Mr. Lucius Dukes, who was watching from his ship. He wanted it to be nice and chaotic in there so he could engage the other part of his plan. Dukes turned in his chair and looked at Wyre, who had his own minions with him: a pack of robot wolves.

"Go while everyone is distracted." Wyre nodded and motioned his wolves to follow him. But, before he left, Dukes said one last thing, "Wyre...I want them both alive."

 _With Clank and Circuit..._

Clank and Circuit didn't know what that explosion was, but it took a whole lot of self-restraint in order to not rush to see what it was.

Clank was now guiding Circuit through the Phoenix so they could find a good place to hide out until the attack was over. Though there was nothing he wanted more than to jump onto Ratchet's back and help him fight, Circuit's safety came first...apparently. He guessed that that was some sort of new rule now that Circuit was back with them; if there's danger coming: hide Circuit. The girl couldn't defend herself, so there was no way that she could partake in a Q-Force fight, she would be destroyed within the first minute. And that was the very last thing that Clank wanted. So he had to find someplace that no one breaking into the ship would ever find her. Where was that? He didn't exactly know yet. But he would find it.

About several feet down another corridor, Clank was scanning the place for a place to hide. But his scan was interrupted by Circuit's feet giving out and falling to the floor, nearly taking Clank with her. The male robot quickly helped her up.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am just tired. Upgrading weapons isn't as easy at it looks. Come on, we should keep moving. Have you found a hiding spot yet?" Clank kept a hand on Circuit as he scanned the hallway, but there were no places that could keep them safe from danger. They would have to try somewhere else. So, after helping his friend back onto her feet, they began down the hallway again. But they didn't get far because Clank suddenly stopped in his tracks. Circuit crashed into him, sending both back down to the ground. The female looked at him with a bit of irritation, "Clank, what are you doing?"

Clank would have apologized to Circuit, but there was something bothering him again. It was happening again, the bot thought to himself. It was the same feeling that he had received when they were on Planet Zeldrin. There was something of Zoni origin here that wasn't either him or Circuit, he could sense it, and that was alarming him greatly. But why was he feeling it here? And the last time that he had felt it was when the wolf came out and attacked them...wait a minute...!

Clank suddenly grabbed Circuit and yanked her several feet back, so much so that he actually dislocated her shoulder bolt, which he felt enormously bad about doing. But, as he pulled her, an explosion erupted from the wall and filled the place with dust and smoke. The two startled robots stood up in alarm and attempted to prepare for the unexpected. Clank kept a strong hold on Circuit's wrist. His job was to keep her safe, and he was going to fulfill that job...even though he had dislocated Circuit's shoulder. But that was beside the point-

 _Clang clang clang clang..._

Clank and Circuit perked up at the sound of clanking, and then alarmed when silence fell. The cloud of smoke was slowly beginning to disperse, but it was still clouding both of their vision. There was no way of telling what was there until the smoke cleared.

 _Grrrrrr..._

Or...maybe there was.

Both robots stumbled backwards as two wolves jumped out of the smoke cloud and growled at them, their yellow eyes glaring. Clank quickly pulled Circuit the other way in an attempt to escape, but two more wolves were blocking the other way as well. Both ways were blocked. They were trapped. Circuit, like last time, latched onto Clank in fear, while Clank himself tried to stay strong. He analyzed the wolves that were currently closing in on them. It was the same type of wolf that had hunted them on Zeldrin: robotic, silver metallic fur and mesmerizing yellow eyes. So a robot wolf being there wasn't a natural occurrence, someone had put it there! And, by the looks of the situation right now, that wolf had been after Clank and Circuit. Someone was trying to get to the two by sending wolves after them. But who would do that?

It was when that question came into to Clank's mind that a voice suddenly came from behind two of the wolves. His appearance wasn't visible, though. But his voice and command was loud and clear, "Get them both...alive."

One wolf from both pairs growled deeply and got lower to the ground. Then, they pounced on the two robots, who managed to jump out of the way both time. Clank pulling himself and Circuit to the left to avoid the first one, and to the right when the second one came. He tried to locate a way out of the area, but both exits were being blocked by the leftover wolves. They were still trapped.

One of the wolves rebounded from their first miss and jumped in front of them; its yellow eyes shining off of the robots' silver metal. It snapped at both of them with its sharp teeth. Clank quickly shoved Circuit behind him and acted as a shield for her. Ratchet had told him to protect her, and protect her he would! However, he didn't account for the second wolf stalking up behind Circuit and sinking its teeth into her jacket. The female robot yelped as she was suddenly thrown into the air. As Clank called out for her, he heard the sound of someone loading a gun, most likely that unseeable commander of the wolves. With a jump of his heart and fear of his friend getting seriously injured by the gun, he reached up and grabbed whatever part of Circuit he could. Unfortunately, though, he grabbed one of the worst possible parts imaginable: her tail. But he had to do it, it was the only way he could save her! But he did feel pretty bad when he heard Circuit let out a mixture between a gasp and a whimper. It was very painful to hear.

Clank, with all of his might, pulled Circuit safely back down to the ground. But, as he brought her down, his unoccupied arm was wide open, and the wolf that he had just pulled Circuit away from seized the opportunity. It bit his arm, its sharp teeth piercing the rubber and metal, causing oily blood to fly out. Great, now both him and Circuit had injured arms. Clank kicked the wolf in the jaw so it would let go of him, which it did, but it seemed that doing that made its fellow packmates angry. He held his injured arm, which had blood running down it, and tried to think quick. The odds were turning against them fast. They would never be able to make it out if they didn't leave quick. These wolves had a hunger for their blood, even though they weren't allowed to kill them apparently. Still, they looked like that they were becoming impatient. They were all about ready to pounce on the two all at once...wait...pounce all at once...that was it!

Trying not to look suspicious, Clank observed the wolf blocking one of the exits. If they could get over it and add some taunting, then they might just get away. The male robot went for Circuit, who was frozen in her place with wide eyes and her tail sticking out. Clank hesitated when he was about to take her hand; grabbing her tail really was a bad idea. But she would have to cope with it all later, because they had an escape plan to put in motion. Clank grabbed Circuit's hand (he hoped that he wouldn't dislocate the other shoulder) and told her quietly to prepare herself, and, when he told her, to wave her tail around. She was confused but she knew that Clank knew what he was doing.

Clank slowly moved the him and Circuit near the other wolf, which watched them carefully. When they were roughly three feet away from the barricade wolf, Clank nodded at his friend. Circuit ,who was very nervous about the alarmingly close presence of a wolf, waved her tail around. The three wolves on the other side caught sight of it and immediately became focused on that. Circuit felt her heart jump as they stalked towards her. This was a plan to get both of them out of here, right? The wolves got down to pounce and the one behind the two bots growled deeply. Circuit closed her eyes; they were going to die. Right here, right now. But then Clank suddenly said.

"Circuit, quickly, we are going to the Bridge!"

Clank then hoisted the two over the barricade wolf as the other three wolves pounced at the same place at the same time. They quickly became a pile of confused and angry hunters who wanted to bite at something. So, they ended up biting up at each other, which obviously made their master pretty angry. Clank and Circuit ran down the hallway as fast as they could so they could get away, but Circuit looked back when she heard the master's voice.

"Get up, you stupid animals! They're getting away! You're supposed to hunt the Zoni, not each other! Ugh!"

Circuit's eyes went wide as she finally got to hear the master's voice clearly. She...she knew that voice! She had heard it before! Sure enough, when the master came out, she instantly recognized him. Black hair, yellow eyes, solver skin, white doctor's jacket...Doctor Wyre! He...he was a bad guy! No way! Circuit would have tried to talk to him, but Clank had pulled her around the corner and towards a nearby broom closet. He wanted to find a better place to hide, but they were quickly running out of time before the wolves recovered. They ducked inside the closet and shut the door behind them, then they listened. If Clank's plan worked, then they should be running to...

"Come on, they're going to the Bridge!" Wyre yelled, "We'll get them there!"

The sound of running footsteps were heard, and then silence. Clank sighed in relief and relaxed his shoulders; they were safe. Circuit was safe. He had done his job. He was about to turn around and ask how his friend was doing, but he yelped when he suddenly received a punch in the back of the head. It didn't hurt that much, but he was still surprised. Clank looked over his shoulder and saw an angry Circuit. Well that was certainly new. Circuit was never violent.

"What was that for?" Clank asked, placing a hand on the back of his head.

"You grabbed my tail!" Circuit yelled quietly. "It was the most horrible thing that I have ever felt!" She wasn't lying, either. When Clank had grabbed her tail, she felt a bit of her soul crumble away as she was met with a large amount of pain and discomfort. Ratchet was right, it really was the worst. Clank raised his hands defensively.

"I am sorry! But I only did it because the person controlling the wolves was about to shoot you!"

Circuit's face quickly softened and realized what she had just done. She backed down and held her broken shoulder bolt. "Sorry...I do not know what got into me..."

"You have been spending too much time with Ratchet again," Clank said, listening to the area outside. "You are developing his temper." There were no noises outside; so it was safe to go out in the hallway. But Clank didn't want to risk running into the wolves again, so he decided that the closet would be their hiding spot. "We should be safe in here. Those wolves and their master believe that we are going to the Bridge, so they should be far away from us. We can stay here until the attack is over-"

"N-No! We have to go see Sasha!" Circuit suddenly blurted out.

"What? Why?"

"Because I saw who the wolves' master was! It was Doctor Wyre!"

"Doctor Wyre? Who is that?"

"He is...or was the paramedic here at the Phoenix. He was the one who brought me back to life! I...I never would have guessed that he was evil. He seemed like such a nice guy when i first met him...wait a minute..." Circuit thought for a moment, mostly on what Doctor Wyre had said when they were leaving. 'You're supposed to hunt the Zoni, not each other!'. Her eyes went wide and she looked at Clank, "Doctor Wyre told the wolves to hunt Zoni...and his target was us. How does he know that we are Zoni?" Clank's eyes widened as well. That was a very good question that he should have realized sooner. Maybe this had something to do with sensing a Zoni presence back in the hallway. He still didn't know what it was, but it must have been connected somehow. It was then that Circuit covered her mouth and her eyes were a stained purple instead of calming. "My blood..."

"What?" Clank asked, tilting his head a bit.

"Doctor Wyre...he took my blood. He came to the apartment and said that he needed a blood sample from me so he could check for infections. He must have checked it and it told him that I was a Zoni."

"Your Zoni blood...that must be what I have been sensing."

"What do you mean? Circuit asked.

"Do you remembering, back on Zeldrin and on the ship, when I abruptly stopped?"

"Yes."

"I stopped those two times because I was sensing something of Zoni origins. I did not know what it was at first, but I believe that I do now. Wyre must have your blood with him, and I am detecting it because it is Zoni blood. But...there is one thing that I do not understand. Why is Wyre after us? Why would he want a Zoni?"

"I have no idea. But I just can't believe that Wyre would...would betray Sasha like that. Betray the Q-Force...we need to tell Ratchet and Sasha what is going on. Maybe they can help answer some of these-AHH!" Circuit quickly grabbed onto Clank as another explosion shook the Phoenix. When things settled back down, she shook her head. "Okay, nevermind that; we are going to die, anyway."

"We are not going to die," Clank said, surprisingly calm. "It is my job to ensure that. Trust me, Circuit, we will get out of this unharmed."

"Unharmed? We have both lost an arm," Circuit said, pointing to her broken shoulder and Clank's bloody arm. The male robot had a look of defeat.

"Mostly unharmed, then. Speaking of which, we should probably repair our arms while we are hiding."

"But Ratchet is fighting right now, he cannot fix my arm."

Clank chuckled as he opened his chest compartment and pulled out a screwdriver and waved it around, "Who said that Ratchet is the only one who can fix an arm?"

* * *

 **Aw man, stuff's goin' down on the Starship Phoenix! But will everyone come out of it alive? I guess we'll see...**

 **Also, Clank and Circuit are in a closet...alone...and nobody's around to interrupt them...y'all know what that means! (Psst...it means Clacuit moments).**

 **Oh, and I updated the Violet Eyes Rewrite. It's the chapter where they name Circuit, so you know it's a good one!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	23. Chapter 23

The Battle of the Phoenix Hangar was going a bit more rough than Ratchet had anticipated. Whoever was in charge of the invasion must have been very worried about fighting the Q-Force, because there were a lot more enemies that he had expected.

As if Chainblade wasn't enough, there were several other enemies from the Annihilation Station coming in from the holes in the wall. Not to mention the swarms of Microdrones and Tyhrranoids that kept flooding in after they managed to take down another wave. The Q-Force was starting to become worn out when facing all of the enemies, Ratchet included. He had been fighting Chainblade for quite a while now, and his arms were starting to really hurt. And the fact that he had to keep his Fire Bomb Wrench in his hands in order to maintain the upgrade wasn't helping at all.

The odds of succeeding were slowly fading away, especially with the new wave of Microdrones coming in. Ratchet swung his wrench and took out a small group of them with an array of fireballs. Sasha aimed and shot several of them with her Combustor while the soldiers just shot randomly at them. Ratchet shook his head; those soldiers could be pathetic sometimes. But at least they were taking out enemies.

 _CHINK!_

Ratchet jumped as one of Chainblade's blades missed him by just a foot. As Chainblade pulled it back, the Lombax grabbed onto the chain and flew up with the blade. He couldn't fly without Clank, so this was the best alternative. Ratchet was tossed into the air and, while making sure that he could avoid the blade that he had came up with, swung his wrench and sent a stream of fire towards Chainblade's head. Direct hit. The Thug yelled in pain, which was music to Ratchet's ears. However, because he was paying to much attention to Chainblade, he didn't see the second blade flying up towards him. The Lombax flew backwards as the side of the blade hit him dead on, and he crashed into the nearest wall, sliding down to the floor while groaning in pain.

"Ratchet!" Sasha gasped. She aimed her gun and shot some incoming Tyhrranoids, then she rushed over to the Lombax. His ears were sagging and he had a hand on his back. The Omniwrench laid a few feet away from him. Sasha got down on the ground and placed a hand on his back. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine," Ratchet said with a groan. He sat up properly and held his shoulder. His ears bounced as he looked up and around the hangar. The Lombax shook his head, "At the risk of sounding hopeless...we can't win this. There's too much to fight."

"That's exactly what I was thinking..." Sasha's ears suddenly perked up. "W-Wait...you don't think that some of them went into the ship and got to Clank and Circuit, do you?" Ratchet's ears perked up as well. He had never thought about that. It was very much possible that some Tyhrranoids or Microdrones went past the hangar and found Clank and Circuit in their hiding place (wherever that was). It was this possibility that made Ratchet's hands curl up into fists. But he calmed a bit when Sasha placed a hand on one of his fists. "Ratchet, go find Clank and Circuit and get out of here. You know where the escape pods are. So just find them and escape."

"What?" Ratchet said, surprised. "But what about-"

"I'm going to call for a full retreat. We'll give the attackers a distraction and then we'll try to escape too. But you go and get a head start. You need some time to find those two."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. Those soldier may be pathetic at times, but they know how to protect their captain. We can handle this without you, trust me. Now go!" Sasha said, pointing to the hangar exit.

Ratchet stared at the Cazar for a moment, his green eyes reflecting her blue eyes, and then he nodded. Grabbing his Omniwrench on the way, the Lombax ran out of the hangar, taking out some stray Microdrones on his way out. They were flung against the wall and exploded in a shower of sparks. Ratchet would have smiled with victory, but he couldn't knowing that he now had to search the entire ship for Clank and Circuit. It had been a while since they left, so they were probably well hidden by this point. Either that or Sasha's theory was right and they had been attacked by some of the invaders. He really wished that they were just hiding like he had told them to. Actually, Ratchet didn't care if they were hiding at all, he just hoped that the two were safe. Then again, Clank was more than capable of protecting Circuit and himself. That Ratchet knew for sure. He began feeling better with that thought in mind.

'Clank and Circuit are safe...they didn't see any enemies...they haven't been attacked...they are one hundred percent unharmed.'

 _With Clank and Circuit..._

Circuit stood patiently while holding up her arm with her other arm. Clank had a screwdriver in her shoulder bolt and was attempting to put it back into place. However, it was proving to be a harder task than expected. The bolt was stuck at an angle within Circuit's shoulder, and he really had no idea how to get it to stay up. He appeared to just be making the injury worse instead of better. But he refused to give up on fixing his friend. Clank was given a job of protecting Circuit, and he was going to fulfill it no matter what the task. However...he wasn't doing a very good job on fixing her. And it seemed that Circuit was picking up on his lack of repairing skills. After trying to hide all of the wincing from the pain that Clank was causing her (not on purpose, of course), she placed a hand on Clank's working hand, making the male look up at her.

"Do you...need help?" Circuit asked. Clank shooed her hand away and shook his head.

"No. I am doing just fine on my own..." Clank nearly dropped the screwdriver as he attempted to tighten the bolt again. When he got a better hold on it, he held her shoulder up against her casing in hopes that would help in someway. He didn't have a logical explanation for why it would help, he just thought that it would. But alas, it did absolutely nothing. He still couldn't figure out why her arm wouldn't stay up. Circuit was looking at him with an unamused face. She knew that he was trying his hardest, but this was getting painful to watch...and it was painful for her shoulder.

"Clank?"

The male robot ignored her.

"Clank...?"

He ignored her once again. But his expression shifted to make it look like that he was a bit upset.

"Clank!" Circuit finally shouted. Clank sighed and looked up at her. She shot him a look. "You do not know how to fix my arm, do you?"

The male robot stared at her for a few moments, a look of sadness slowly coming onto his face. Then he released her arm and let his own arms fall to his sides. He lowered his head and bit and let out a small sigh as he shook his head. It was true, he didn't know how to fix Circuit's arm. He was just too embarrassed to admit it after he had promised her that he could do it. The truth behind it was that he had never actually repaired himself before, it had always been Ratchet who fixed him in the past. And Clank hadn't even bother to pay attention to what Ratchet was doing during all the times that he was being repaired.

Clank, feeling like he should say something, rubbed his injured arm, which was now wrapped in gauze that they had found on one of the closet's shelves, and muttered quietly, "I am sorry..." The small robot kept his eyes on the floor, feeling terrible that he couldn't help Circuit with her pain. But he looked up a little as he felt a finger being pressed onto his forehead. When he did look up, his face turned a bit red when he saw the cute smiling face of Circuit.

The female robot pushed his head back up with her finger. "It is alright, Clank. Not all robots know how to repair themselves. I appreciate you trying, though."

Clank smiled a bit at Circuit. There was always something about that girl that made people feel determined...and encouraged...and happy. Well, maybe it was only him who felt all of those things. However, even though Circuit said that it was alright, he still felt bad for not being able to fix her. Plus, with the way that she was rubbing her shoulder, he must have caused her even more pain during his attempts. Knowing that made his small smile disappear. He turned around and placed the screwdriver back inside his chest compartment. Clank could calculate the final digit of pi, but he couldn't fix a dislocated shoulder. Pathetic...!

"Do not beat yourself up. I do not know how to fix my arm either," Circuit said, hugging Clank from behind. She placed her chin on his shoulder and rested her head up against his. "And if you lied and tried to repair me just to impress me, there is no need to. You already impress me. You are the smartest person that I know, and that is good enough for me."

The shade of red that Clank's face was earlier seemed to increase as Circuit hugged and complimented him. But it seemed to disappear as the girl suddenly hugged him a lot tighter and quickly turned her head at the door. Clank gave her a strange look; she must have been scared and thought that someone was coming...and by the sound of the footsteps in the quiet and supposedly empty hallway, she was right to be frightened.

Clank quickly grabbed Circuit's hand in an attempt to tell her that it was alright. The male robot then slowly got out of Circuit's grasp and reached a hand out, feeling around on the closet's shelves. His hand twitched as he ran his fingers over a stapler. It wasn't a weapon, but it might have been able to do some damage. So he pushed Circuit behind him and got into a defensive stance. The footsteps were getting closer.

And closer...and closer...and closer...until...!

The door to the closet opened and Clank quickly threw the stapler. He was about to grab Circuit and make a run for it, but he stopped when he heard-

"AHHHH! AW GOD THAT HURT! AGH!" Ratchet yelled as he was hit in the head with the airborne stapler. He held his hand over the injured spot and glared at Clank angrily, "What the hell?!"

"Ratchet, I am so, so sorry! I thought that you were an enemy!" Clank said with a panicked voice.

"He is telling the truth, Ratchet! It was an accident!" Circuit defended as she grabbed onto Clank's shoulders.

"Why so paranoid, anyway? You didn't even see my face and you threw the stapler anyway!" The Lombax asked, crossing his arms and becoming a bit more calm knowing that it was just an accident.

"I know, I am very sorry, but we are still being hunted down," Clank said, also calmed down.

"Hunted down?"

"Yes. Circuit and I were attacked by a robot pack of wolves. They were just like the wolf from Zeldrin."

"And Doctor Wyre is the one who is controlling them!" Circuit blurted out. "He said that he wants Zoni! That is why he attacked us. And I believe that it is also why he wanted my blood."

"Wyre...?" Ratchet said quietly. The doctor who had come to his home and took his daughter's blood...was a bad guy. His teeth clenched together. He knew it. He had a bad feeling about that doctor from the very start. Now he was trying to hunt down his best friend and his kid? That robot had gone too far. If Ratchet ever saw, he would be sure to take his head off at the first chance. But, for now, they had to escape the Phoenix like Sasha had said. So he motioned the two robots along. "Come on, you two, we're leaving. We're not too far from the escape pods, so we should be able to get out of here quickly."

"Wait, we are leaving? But what about the invaders?" Clank asked, taking a step forward.

"There's just too many of them. And Chainblade was there too, so you know that there's real trouble stirring. And Sasha ordered to escape. She and the others will be leaving too. It's a full retreat."

"Is the attack really that severe?" Circuit asked.

"Yeah, it is. Now come on." Ratchet reached his hand out so Clank could grab it and latch onto his back. However, he didn't grab his friend when he saw the gauze wrapped around his arm. The bandages were stained with blood. Ratchet quickly got down onto his knees and looked at Clank's arm. "Pal, what happened to your arm?"

"Oh, yes, well, you see Ratchet, during the attack with the wolves, one of the wolves had gotten a hold of Circuit. It tossed her in the air and I grabbed her, but the wolf then bit my undefended arm. The damage is not bad. It is just a little bloody, and it does not hurt that much," Clank explained. He looked over his shoulder and at Circuit, "Circuit, however, has a more...serious injury."

Ratchet looked up at Circuit, and his eyes went a bit wide when he saw her arm. It was totally out of place; she had to keep holding it up in order for it to stay up. The Lombax's early lowered a tiny bit. It looked like that his wish for his friends to be unharmed had gone unfulfilled. Then he became a bit angry. He placed his fist in his opposite palm and bared his teeth a bit.

"Wyre is so dead. It's a shame that he didn't know before. He would have know better than to hurt you two," he growled.

"U-Umm...actually, Ratchet, about Circuit's injury..." Clank began in a nervous tone. He knew that Ratchet was going to be mad at him when he found out that he was the one who broke Circuit's shoulder, but he couldn't lie. So he placed a hand on the back of his head and tried to get it out. "A-About her injury, I umm...I was uhh...I was the one who-"

"Who tried to fix me after I fell and dislocated my shoulder," Circuit said, stepping forward. Clank had a look of disbelief on his face as she placed a hand on her chest. "We were running from the wolves and I fell. I landed on my shoulder so hard that my shoulder servos broke. Clank helped me up and took me here and attempted to fix me. And he made sure that we were safe because he tricked Doctor Wyre into thinking that we were going to the Bridge. It was quite brilliant."

Clank stared at Circuit, shocked about what she was doing. She was lying right to Ratchet's face, something that she would never do. And she was doing it just so Ratchet wouldn't get mad at him for dislocating her shoulder. Clank looked up at Ratchet, who had his hands on his waist and nodded at the male robot with a small smile.

"Huh...that does sound pretty impressive. Nice job, pal," Ratchet said. Clank didn't say anything, but he managed to remove the shocked expression from his face in order to avoid suspicion. He then grabbed Ratchet's hand, but not before shooting Circuit an appreciative glance. The female smiled and watched Ratchet toss him onto his back. The Lombax then motioned her towards him, "Come on, Circuit. We'll fix your arm when we get to...wherever we're going."

Ratchet picked the second robot up and then stepped out into the hallway. He lifted his ears and listened in for any incoming enemies. There was nothing but dead silence, meaning that the coast was clear. He really had to pay attention in case someone was coming because, if they got jumped, Ratchet wouldn't have enough time to put Circuit down and use his wrench. Besides, he was still worn out from fighting Chainblade, he couldn't really fight anymore (well...for now, at least). So he crept down the hallway that lead to the room with all of the escape pods. He was thrown off balance as the Phoenix shook a bit, no doubt from another explosion. The Lombax looked down the other side of the hallway, wondering if everything was alright in the hangar. Clank tapped him on the shoulder so he could break the Lombax's worried trance. Ratchet shook his head and broke into a speed walk. Then he looked at Circuit while still staying alert.

"So Wyre is the one who sent the wolves after you? What does he want with Zoni anyway?"

"I do not know, and neither does Clank," Circuit replied. "But, whatever the reason, I am guessing that it cannot be good."

"Your guess is probably right," Ratchet said. "I wonder what Sasha's gonna do when we tell her. She trusted Wyre. It must hurt to be stabbed in the back by someone that you t-trust..." The Lombax then became silent as he recalled a similar situation involving him and someone that he had trusted. Clank picked up on his sudden change in mood, and then he tried to change the subject.

"So where are we going to go once we leave the Phoenix?"

"Don't know yet," the Lombax said, shaking his head. "To the nearest planet, I guess. Hopefully Sasha and the soldiers will think of the same plan."

After several short minutes, the three arrived at the escape pods. They jumped into one and Ratchet and Clank began deciding on what planet they should go to. There weren't very many options, but after a short debate, they settled on Planet Hoven. It wasn't the closest planet, but the invaders would have a hard time finding them if they were followed. There were so many caves and buildings they could hide out in, it was an ideal place for staying under the enemy's radar. While they punched the coordinates in, Circuit glanced out the escape pod door, which was still open. Her heart nearly stopped as she saw a robot wolf out in the hallway. It was alone, so it was most likely a sentry wolf or something along those lines. Circuit quickly pulled on Ratchet's pant leg, not wanting to make any noise that would alert the wolf. But Ratchet just shooed her hand away. She tried again, this time muttering:

"Ratchet..."

Ratchet pushed her away again, "Not now, Circuit."

"No, Ratchet, really, we have a..." Circuit looked over her shoulder and saw the wolf's ears twitching. She tugged harder on Ratchet's pant leg, "a problem!"

"Circuit, what is the matter?" The Lombax irritatingly raised his voice as he turned around and looked down at the robot, who looked fairly panicked. But, after he raised his voice, his ears picked up the sound of growling. Ratchet looked up and saw a yellow eyed robot wolf creeping towards them. His ears fell, "Oh...that's the matter...!"

The wolf's creeping turned into a full on run, and it charged towards the escape pod. Ratchet held out his wrench and prepared to whack it, but Clank was way ahead of him when it came to a plan of action. The robot quickly closed the escape pod right as the wolf jumped. It protected them from it...mostly. The wolf's head was inside the escape pod, while the rest of its body were on the outside. It snapped at Clank and Circuit, knowing that they were its target. Circuit, panicking about the insane wolf who wanted to hunt her and Clank, quickly pulled out her machete and held it forward. One howl out of that wolf and they were going to be doomed. They had to get rid of it. So, she held her machete forward and...

...

...

Didn't do anything. The moment that she saw both her machete and the wolf in her sight, she became a bit lightheaded. Her vision began to go in and out of focus and she swayed a bit. She...she couldn't do it...she couldn't touch it. She wasn't willing to do it again...for any creature, hunting her or not. Circuit put her machete down, the handle slipping out of her fingers, her vision barely focused, her mind cloudy, and she began falling forward.

"Circuit!" Clank gasped as he quickly caught her before she could hit the floor. Meanwhile, Ratchet growled at the wolf and then smacked it with the Omniwrench, sending it out of the escape pod and onto the floor, not moving. It wasn't dead, but it was going to wake up soon and alert its fellow pack members, which meant that they had to get going. Ratchet typed in the rest of the coordinates and then launched the escape pod, sending the round ship into space and towards Planet Hoven. Clank shifted Circuit, who was had gone limp for the most part, on his shoulder so he could look at her face. Her eyes were just about empty and her antenna was hardly glowing. She was barely conscious. Clank attempted to snap her out of it, "Circuit? Circuit, can you hear me?"

After a moment of nothing, Circuit's head shifted a bit and her eyes seemed to be starting to fill up with life again. Eventually, Circuit blinked a few times and lifted her head off of Clank's shoulder. She got on both of her feet and stood up while placing a hand on her head. Then she said in a quiet and tired voice (it sounded like that she was still out of it), "What...what happened...?"

"You nearly passed out," Clank explained.

"Passed out?" Circuit asked, her full voice finally coming through. "Why would I pass...I-I mean _nearly_ pass out?"

"It was the wolf," Ratchet suddenly said, making both robots look up at him. He had quite a serious look on his face as he stared out the window of the escape pod. "You were gonna attack the wolf with your machete, but doing that reminded you of when you killed the wolf on Zeldrin. And you passed out when that happened. So just now you had some sort of...wolf killing traumatizing relapse."

"Oh..." Circuit trailed off. She walked over to her machete that was now on the ground and stuffed it back inside her chest compartment (giving a small "ow!" when the blade hit the side of the compartment. She kept her hand over the closed compartment for a few moments, then she walked over to one of the escape pod's windows and stared out of it, leaning forward and folding her arms and placing them on the edge.

Ratchet glanced at Clank, who glanced back at him. The Lombax could tell that his friend was feeling bad for Circuit. And, now that he thought about it, Clank had never really talked about the incident with Circuit, so he didn't know just how upset she was about it. But, with Circuit's mood now, he was beginning to understand. Though Ratchet wanted nothing to more than to comfort his daughter and tell her that everything was alright, he was going to let Clank have his turn. So, Ratchet poked Clank's antenna to get his attention, then he nodded towards Circuit. Clank tilted his head and looked at the female robot, then back up at Ratchet. The Lombax shot him a look that said 'she's all yours', and went up to the control panel of the escape pod, making sure that they were on the right course to Hoven.

Clank blinked and his eyes drifted from Ratchet to Circuit, who was still staring out the window, her tail swishing back and forth occasionally. Though he was a bit hesitant at first, he walked up beside her, and got into a similar position (arms folded and on the edge of the window, big bright eyes staring off into space, etc). He gave her a sideways glance, which caught her attention. When she looked at him, he smiled, but when she looked away, he frowned. Clank rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of something to do. Circuit was clearly more upset about remembering the Zeldrin incident than he had expected. It didn't seem like that there was much help that he could offer. Still, he tried at least talking to her. It was better than nothing.

"Circuit, I know that you are upset about what happened on Zeldrin, but you must not forget that you saved my life."

"The wolf was not even trying to kill us..." Circuit said quietly.

"It does not matter if the wolf was not actually trying to kill us. We did not know that it was just hunting us at the time. But you were still willing to defend me when we were both in danger. And I am grateful for that."

The female raised her head a bit and looked at Clank with a small yet sad smile. Then she turned her attention back to the window, as did Clank. However, Clank couldn't really keep his focus on space, because he kept finding himself glancing at Circuit. A small spark felt like it had shocked his heart a bit as an idea came to mind. In an attempt to comfort her even further, the male robot placed a hand on her shoulder and pulling her into a light side hug. He blushed a bit when a now smiling Circuit responded by placing her head on his shoulder, but he was happy. They both were. And it was because they were so happy staring at the stars with each other that they didn't notice Ratchet snapping a picture of them with his phone.

* * *

 **Ladies and gentlemen, Clacuit...has been served.**

 **Did any of you guys see the new Ratchet and Clank PS4 gameplay?! The graphics look so freaking good! And the cutscene animation is AMAZING! If you haven't seen it, go to Insomniac Games' Youtube channel, you'll find them there. It's gameplay of Planet Novalis, Rilgar, and new Metropolis gameplay.**

 **BUT! If you really want to see some detailed gameplay, go to Gamespot's website and watch the Ratchet and Clank PS4 livestream video. It's one hour and forty six minutes of new gameplay. I watched the whole thing...twice.**

 **Also, oh my god, I think that Elaris is one of my new most favorite characters. She's so awesome. And Rosario Dawson gives her the perfect voice (there were movie cutscenes in the new footage).**

 **Oh, and some more news for you guys in case you missed it: there is a brand new Ratchet and Clank movie website! It's full of new screenshots, movie clips, and in depth info about the characters. I left a link to the site at the bottom of my profile page in case any of you guys want to check it out.**

 **Anyhow, real Ratchet and Clank stuff aside, I have to tell you guys something. March 19th, eight days from now, marks the day that I moved from the Ninjago Archive to the Ratchet and Clank Archive. How do I know that? Because my very first R &C Fanfic, Violet Eyes, was published on March 19th. And you know what that means? Circuit will officially be one year old! (Granted, she's nine in the actual fanfiction, but you guys know what I mean). I'll have to do something special in order to celebrate the occasion. Maybe make a huge story announcement that I've been dying to tell you guys about? Maybe? I guess we'll see what I decide on on the 19th.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	24. Chapter 24

Ratchet grabbed the controls of the escape pod and carefully brought it down to the surface of the ice planet Hoven. Just by entering the atmosphere, the three aboard the pod could feel the cold temperature. Circuit even zipped up her hoodie for the first time, hiding her purple shirt, and pulled her hood up. Clank giggled a bit at the Lombax ears, making her shoot an annoyed glare at him. Ratchet told them that there was nothing wrong with having Lombax ears, then he piloted the escape pod onto the surface, landing with a fairly rough thud. Circuit went over to the window and looked outside, but the window was already covered in a heavy layer of frost on the glass, so she couldn't see. She shifted on her feet impatiently; she wanted to see what this new world looked like. Luckily, Ratchet opened the pod door so she could now see out there. Unluckily, a cold breeze blew int, sending a harsh shiver up and down her systems. There were these strange white particles that floated in with the wind, but the disappeared once they hit the floor and walls. Circuit tilted her head at these strange particles, then she walked to the open door. Her eyes went wide as she saw rocky cliffs covered in some sort of white substance, the same kind of stuff was also falling from the sky lightly. She had never seen such climate. It...concerned her.

Circuit looked down at the ground, tempted to stick her foot down and touch the white substance. She looked up at Ratchet, "Ratchet, what is that stuff?"

"That's snow," Ratchet replied, getting his Omniwrench ready. "You don't have to worry; it's totally harmless."

Ratchet checked with Clank to see what weapons they had with them (just an Omniwrench and a Combustor), and he was so distracted by doing this that he didn't see Circuit lean out the door and tried to observe the snow more closely. But he did hear the sound of metal slipping on metal and something falling down.

"AHH!" Cried a very familiar voice.

"Ohh crap!" the Lombax said, turning around and jumping into the doorway. His ears bobbed up and down as he quickly looked all over the ground. Then they twitched as he located a small red light in the snow. There she was! Ratchet called out, "Hold on, Circuit! I-I'm gonna send a rescue team!"

"Rescue team? Who is the rescue team?" Clank asked, walking up next to him. Ratchet gave Clank a look for several seconds and then raised an eyebrow. The robot's shoulders dropped, "Oh dear..."

The Lombax grabbed Clank and tossed him into the snow, landing him about two feet away from Circuit. He poked his round head out from under the snow and shoved his way over to Circuit. He then dug through the snow and grabbed onto what he hoped was a hoodie and not a skirt, then pulled. Circuit's head was pulled up, which shook as she surfaced. Ratchet jumped down from the pod and scooped up both robots, then placed both of them back in the ship. Circuit wrapped her working arm around herself; she was shivering badly.

"I-I-I d-do not l-l-like that-t st-stuff-ff!" The purple eyed robot managed to say.

"I ain't a big fan of it either, so you're not alone," Ratchet said nodding at Circuit. He then turned around and looked at where they were at. The only things worth interest were the abandoned factory and bored some wildlife. But that was it; the rest were just cliffs, snow, and more snow. He turned back to his friends, "We'll lay low here until the coast is clear. I'm waiting for Sasha to contact us and tell us what the situation is. With any luck, it won't be too severe...by the way, we didn't leave anything, like, valuable on the Phoenix, did we? Aphelion took off during the invasion, so I know that she's somewhere safe, but is there anything else that we left?"

Clank placed a digit on his chin, thinking of all the possessions that they had brought with them to the Phoenix, but none of them seemed to be of any major importance, so he shook his head. Circuit, however, formed a miserable expression on her face as she remembered one certain possession. "Little Ratchey..."

"Little-excuse me?" Clank asked with a confused expression. Little Ratchey? What in the world was that? Whatever it was, Circuit seemed very sad about losing it.

Ratchet's ears lowered a bit when he saw how upset Circuit became about losing her favorite (and only) toy. He placed a hand on her good shoulder and looked at her with a sympathetic face, "Maybe...maybe he didn't get hurt or torn apart or burned or anything ('this is not helping her whatsoever'). So he could still be alright." Circuit looked up at him, but there was still sadness in his eyes. She rubbed her injured shoulder, reminding Ratchet of what he had said earlier. "Come here, let's get that shoulder fixed. Clank, hand me my screwdriver."

Clank opened up his chest compartment and searched its contents. However, a worried look came onto his face as he failed to locate the screwdriver. It was then that he remembered that he had used it on the Phoenix...and didn't put it back in his compartment. "Umm, Ratchet? About the screwdriver, it appears that I...do not have it. I must have left it on the Phoenix."

"Oh...well crap," Ratchet muttered as he observed Circuit's broken shoulder. This was not exactly good; he didn't want Circuit to be stuck with a broken arm for...well Orvus knew how long. He tried to think of something that could possibly help. What on Hoven could assist them with robotics...what could...oh, duh! Ratchet perked up as he looked back outside, searching the area for the certain place he could think of. Sure enough, once he focused enough, it was there. The Roboshack. Ratchet scooped Circuit up, "I know someone who can help. Come on, Clank!"

Clank jumped onto Ratchet's harness. Another confused look came onto him as the Lombax began speed walking away, "I am serious. What is a Little Ratchey?"

 _Several minutes later..._

Hoven was an ice planet, Ratchet understood that, but did every inch of the ground have to be covered in ice?

Throughout the entire walk, Ratchet was keeping very still and being very cautious. Every few steps he would slip and slide around, making the two robots he was carrying very worried and panicked. Ratchet, though he sounded very uncertain, told them that there was nothing to worry about. That opinion changed very quickly and very drastically when he slipped on another patch of ice and nearly dropped Circuit over the edge of the cliff (causing both Ratchet and Clank to have heart attacks...Circuit as well). The pace of the journey then slowed greatly as Ratchet held Circuit very close to him ("I nearly urinated..." "Oh, that's okay, I almost did, too!"), but, after a long and tension filled amount of time, they made it to the Roboshack. All three were happy to be on solid, non-ice covered ground.

Ratchet placed Circuit on the floor and Clank detached from his harness as they entered the small building. Circuit attempted to wander about this place and look at the items on the shelves, but Clank placed a hand on her back and led her to the front counter, where Ratchet was already calling out: "Hello? Is anyone here? We need some help! Hello?"

"Now don't you fret, I'm comin'," called back a female voice. From the back room came a familiar light green alien wearing a pale yellow shirt and overalls. Her brown hair, which was up in a ponytail, bounced as she came up to the front counter. "Well well, lookie who's here! You and your robot friend gettin' along well?"

"We want to strangle each other every once in awhile, but other than that, we're doing fine," Ratchet replied with a smile.

"Well that's good to hear. Now how can I help y'all today?" Edwina said, placing a hand on her waist. She looked at Clank, who had jumped up and sat down on the counter, "Little guy need another upgrade?"

"No, not this time. Can you repair a broken shoulder?"

"Of course I can, but...his shoulder doesn't look very broken..."

"Not his shoulder, it's hers," Ratchet said, pointing to something.

Edwina looked at where he was pointing and jumped a bit when she suddenly saw a second robot, female by the look of it. Her big violet eyes were peeking over the counter, and she had a pair of Lombax ears on her hoodie. Edwina smiled and looked down at the purple eyed robot. "Well would ya look at that."

Ratchet reached down and picked up Circuit by her hood, then he placed her on the counter. He placed a hand on her head, "This is Circuit. She's a clone of Clank, Clank's girlfriend-" Circuit covered her red face and Clank fell off of the counter "-and my daughter."

"Heh, well I can tell that she's your little girl; she's got your ears and tail," Edwina said, feeling the plush Lombax ears on Circuit's hoodie.

The small robot giggled, "Yes, I take after my daddy."

"Heck yeah, you do," Ratchet said, holding out his fist, which Circuit happily bumped. "My little Lombax."

Circuit giggled, but it came to abrupt stop as she felt a large pain in her shoulder. She quickly grabbed it and looked up at Ratchet with sad eyes. The Lombax told her to take off part of her jacket so they could see the damage. Circuit obeyed and slipped her arm out of her sleeve, revealing a severely out of place shoulder sprocket. Edwina cringed when she looked at it closely, "Ooh, that it one dislocated shoulder."

"Yeah, no wonder Clank couldn't fix it," Ratchet said, not noticing Clank uncomfortably rubbing the back of his head.

"It hurts..." Circuit muttered.

"Aww, now don't you worry, sweetheart. There's not a single sprocket that I can't fix," Edwina reassured. She reached under the counter and located her wrench and screwdriver. "Hold still now, cutie. This isn't gonna hurt one bit."

 _Meanwhile..._

Wyre led his wolf pack down the hangar, which looked like a war zone. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening! He was tricked by some pathetic Zoni specimen...well, actually, he was tricked by the Prince of the Zoni, who was not a pathetic specimen, but that wasn't the point. The point was that everyone, including the Zoni, had escaped the Phoenix, right when he had been so close to getting both of them. He could already feel his incoming power that Lucius would grant him, but then the two robots outsmarted him and to away, baiting him to go to the Bridge so he could finally capture them. But, no, they had hidden themselves somewhere else, leaving Wyre and his pack to look around the Bridge like a bunch of idiots. So, in the end, he and his pack had failed to take the Zoni...again. The only good thing that came out of this mission was that they had taken over the Starship Phoenix, so now they could use it as a better space base. But, that wasn't their goal. Getting the Zoni was the goal, and that mission went down the toilet. Wyre sighed, Dukes was going to have his sprockets for this. In fact, that was who was going to go see now.

Dukes was observing the corpse of a dead Microdrone (shot with a Combustor, typical). His electric blue eye looked over his shoulder as he heard the sound of multiple footsteps. Wyre was here...and he didn't have the Zoni, just a few wolves. He sighed and nearly hit a hovering Microdrone as he stood up. He placed a hand behind his hands and glared at his top henchman. "I take it that the news you're about to deliver to me is...?"

"Yes, bad news," Wyre said. Several wolves coward behind him as Dukes's hand turned into a fist. "The Zoni got away. They outsmarted my wolves and I and fled. They most likely left with everyone else."

"So...you don't know where they are now?"

U-Uhh...no, sir." Wyre shuffled his feet uncomfortably as Dukes turned his back on him, making him and his wolves nervous. Several tension filled seconds went by, and Wyre's gears were grinding more intensely by the moments. Next thing he knew, he was dropping to the floor as a dead drone was thrown at him. His wolves scattered as an enraged Dukes stepped forward.

"God damn it, Wyre! You had one job! _One_ job! Those Zoni were practically served to you on a silver platter, but you still failed to capture just one of them! Now we have no idea where they are! We were so close, Wyre! So. Damn. Close!"

"Yes, yes, I know, we were close, Lucius, but it's not the end of the world!" Wyre defended himself. "We can still track them down!"

"How?" Dukes asked with a growl in his voice.

"How? W-W-Well...umm...maybe we could...there's still uhh..."

"You have no idea how we can track them, do you?"

"Can't say that I didn't try to think of something!"

"AGH!" Dukes reached down and grabbed Wyre's white coat. "Wyre, words cannot describe how much you are dea-"

"Woof! Woof!"

Wyre and Dukes were surprised at the sound of barking. They looked at the entrance to the hangar and saw the shadow and soon the actual robot wolf. Wyre told Dukes that it was one of his wolves ("Well, duh! What other kind of wolf would be here?") and he quickly scrambled out of his boss's grasp and met with the wolf. It had a bunch of dents in its neck and its left eyes was shattered, signifying that it had been attacked. Wyre grabbed its face so he could get its full attention.

"Who did this to you?" He asked with genuine concern.

The wolf barked several more times, and then it howled, getting the other wolves to listen to it. Then it took off down the hangar and through the hallway that it had come from. Wyre motioned for the other wolves and Dukes to follow, which they did. The damaged wolf led them to an area that Wyre had recently been around, which made him a bit mad. He was secretly hoping that the wolf would somehow lead them to the Zoni, but the odds of that were very small.

But it seemed like the odds were in his favor.

The wolf unexpectedly led them to the escape pod room, which didn't have any escape pods in it anymore. The wolf turned around and barked at Wyre; it seemed upset about something.

"What? What's its problem?" Dukes asked.

The wolf went up to Wyre and bumped something attached to his belt. Wyre looked at what it was bumping: the vial of Zoni blood. His yellow eyes went wide; this wolf was trying to tell him that the Zoni did come here and took an escape pod. And, best of all, it looked like that it knew the exact one that they took. The doctor smiled, "Hahahaa! You brilliant savage! Hold onto your hair, Dukes, these Zoni aren't lost yet!"

"What do you mean? Can you find them?"

"With a bit of luck from my hacking skills..." Wyre looked over his shoulder and showed Dukes his wicked grin and confident expression. "We'll know exactly where they are!"

 _Back on Planet Hoven..._

"That oughta do it! Try it out, sweetheart," Edwina said, putting her tools down.

Circuit experimented with her newly repaired arm. The movements were smooth, graceful, and made the usual 'whir' sounds with no interruptions whatsoever. "My arm and shoulder are fully functional. Thank you Ms. Edwina."

"Aw, it was no problem. I was happy to help."

"Yeah, you did a really nice job," Ratchet said, looking at Circuit's arm. Then he reached into his pocket, the sound of bolts clinking around. "So, how much do I owe ya?"

"Oh, it was just a broken sprocket, there's no need to pay me," Edwina said, waving the money off. Ratchet smiled and thanked her. As she put her tools away, she looked at the three, "So what are y'all doin' all the out here anyway? This isn't a place people usually want to come back to."

"We are here because a ship full of invaders attacked the starship that we were on," Clank said, getting back up onto the counter. "We are staying here in the meantime, waiting for someone from the starship to contact us and tell us what the situation is."

"My god, that's terrible! You better find them invaders and kick their butts! And if there's anything I can do for y'all, I'd sure be happy to help."

"Well, we do need somewhere to hide out at," Ratchet said, looking outside then back at Edwina. "Any suggestions?"

"Hmm...if I were lookin' for a place to stow away in, I'd try one of those weird metal rooms over there," Edwina said, pointing outside. "I think that they were used to store bolt crates, but they're all gone now. No one lives on those rooms, so they should be empty."

"Alright, I guess we'll go check it out. Thanks, Edwina, for everything" the Lombax said with a nod. "Clank, Circuit, let's go."

Clank jumped up onto Ratchet's back and Ratchet himself picked up Circuit, putting her in a grip that made her feel secure. The three left the Roboshack (Circuit waving by to Edwina) and Edwina called out, "Y'all stay safe, y'hear?"

"We will!" Ratchet called back.

The three...well, Ratchet actually...traveled carefully around the icy cliff edge, taking every step very slowly. One slip of the foot and they could very well be goners; sailing over the cliff and freezing in the cold waters below. So Ratchet kept a hold on the cliff as he made his way towards a metal rectangular doorway. Clank shifted uncomfortably as he looked down and saw the rushing waters below; he hoped that Ratchet would hurry up. Actually, no, he didn't want the Lombax to hurry. Hurrying would increase their chances of falling in. So he Ratchet take his time and, eventually, they made it into the doorway. Ratchet poked his head and side, as did Circuit, and they searched the room. It was kind of small, but it would still leave them with plenty of room to move around in in case of an attack. Also, it was empty, so there wasn't anyone living inside. It looked like that they found their new temporary home.

"Alright," Ratchet said as Clank and Circuit dropped down to the floor, "Looks like that we'll be staying here for a bit. What do you guys think?"

A cold wind blew into the shelter, making Circuit hug herself and shiver, "Drafty."

"Well, there's no door, and no crates to block the wind, so I guess we'll have to deal with it," the Lombax said, sitting on the ground and putting his back against the wall. He let out a big sigh; it felt so nice to just sit down and relax for awhile.

Meanwhile, Circuit settled down in a corner and curled up into a little shivering ball. She had felt cold before, but never this cold. It was terrible. Not even her clothes were able to keep her completely warm (wearing a short skirt probably wasn't helping, though). Clank looked at the shivering girl and his eyes fell into a sad position. This was the first time that Circuit had ever been exposed to snow and the cold, so she was no doubt fairly miserable. Feeling fairly bad for her, he walked over to Circuit and sat down next to her, making sure that he was sitting on the side that the wind was blowing from. Then Clank wrapped his arms around her and hoped that his internal heater would help her in some way. It didn't seem like it, because her shivering didn't show any sign of seizing. So, in attempt to make her sound like that she was warmer than him, he said:

"You know, you should consider yourself lucky. You are wearing clothing and I am not, yet you are still cold. So the amount of coldness that you are feeling is even worse for me..." Clank decided to end there as he immediately regretted what he had just said. That sounded more like an insult towards Circuit because she had clothing and Clank didn't, leaving him more miserable than her. It appeared that that was the case, because after he had said that, Circuit got up and walked to the other side of the room, sitting back down in another corner with her back turned to Clank. "Oh, C-Circuit! I did not mean it like...ugh." The robot slid his metal fingers down his face. Smooth, Clank, smooth. He made Circuit upset. The small robot sighed and placed his head in his hands, only lifting it when he saw Ratchet sit down next to him.

"Havin' some trouble?" Ratchet asked quietly.

"It appears so..." Clank replied, looking at Circuit, who almost looked like that she was fiddling with something in the corner.

"Ah, don't worry, pal. You know Circuit; she's not one to hold a grudge. She'll probably be all over you again by the end of the day."

Clank shot his friend a look as his face turned a bit red, then he pulled his knees up to his chest and put his chin on it. He looked at Circuit, who still had her back to him, and his eyes narrowed into a sad position. He hoped that she wasn't too mad at him; he didn't want his relationship with Circuit to crumble down now. He wanted to go over and talk to her, but he was afraid that he would make things even worse. So he decided to just go with what Ratchet said and wait awhile before doing anything. So he simply put looked down at the ground and maybe power down for awhile. Meanwhile, as she kept her back turned to Ratchet and Clank, Circuit pulled out some dark green fabric from her chest compartment.

* * *

 **Wow, that's like...the quickest I've ever written a chapter for this. Seriously, this only took, like, three hours to write. Usually a chapter for this story takes about six hours to write (it takes up a good portion of my day but I do for you guys). I guess I was really in the writing zone!**

 **So it looks like that Clank think that he messed up while talking with Circuit and he thinks that she's mad at him and is on the other corner because she doesn't want to talk to him. Little does he know, Circuit is doing something totally different. And what she's doing is so freaking sweet, you guys are gonna love it!**

 **Coming up: More tension! More violence! More Clacuit! More everything! I'm so freaking pumped that I might write and post the new chapter tonight! No promises though.**

 **Also: Happy Easter! I ate so many Reeses Eggs, it's not even funny...AAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	25. Chapter 25

Clank's eyes drooped more and more as several hours passed by in the cold metal room. Hours on Hoven were the same as everywhere else in the universe, but for some reason, they felt like that they all took forever to pass by, creating one dreadful eternity.

Ratchet spent the time taking short naps and fiddling with his Omniwrench, taking time to attempt and talk to Clank every now and again, but the robot was too tired to really strike up a conversation, so most of the time was spent in silence.

Every now and then, Clank would find himself glancing upwards at Circuit, who had spent all of the time in the corner, making slight movements constantly. He was very curious about what she had over there. Whatever it is, it was enough to keep her busy for hours...and involved scissors by the sound of it. He would go over there and see what she was up to, but he forced himself not to. After what he had said to her, he wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to him right now. After all, she still had her back to him, signifying that she didn't want to even look at him. A sad aura loomed over Clank as his eyes stared at the floor. It seemed like that he had really messed up...and he felt horrible about it.

Meanwhile, over in the other corner, Circuit messed around with the dark green fabric, using the dark green thread to weave through it and bring parts of it together. She had been working hard at this for several hours, and it was almost complete. But there was one major part of this missing that would really bring this project together, and that was some sort of symbol or emblem for the neck button. Just having a green button there was too boring. What could she put there...!

Circuit smiled as she reached inside her chest compartment (it was a bit awkward because she had to lift her shirt up in order to open it) and went through the various fabrics that she had with her. She was glad that she never emptied these out at the Phoenix when she had brought all of these from home, cause then she wouldn't have been able to do this project. She pulled out some gray fabric, used a marker to draw the design on it so it was easier to cut, then used the scissors to begin cutting. A small smile formed on her face as she began finishing up her project. She hoped that he would like it.

Clank's limbs whirred stiffly as he finally came out of his curled up position and stretched. He had been in that position for hours, it kind of hurt coming out of it, but after taking a few seconds to stretch, he felt much better. He rubbed his eyes and yawned a bit. Ratchet told him to lie down and take a nap, which he gladly agreed to. The robot placed his back against the wall and closed his eyes, preparing to shut down. He hoped that Circuit would do the same; he didn't want her battery to run out if/when something bad happened. Setting aside his worries, Clank's head slowly sagged as he drifted off...but it shot right back up when he heard the sound of metal footsteps. But his heart jumped when he realized that the footsteps were coming' towards him. And the only other person here with metal feet was...

 _Tap tap tap_

"Clank? Are you awake?"

"Y-Yes!" Clank blurted out, his eyes opening. Circuit was right in front of him, her big violet eyes staring down at him. He scrambled to his feet and brushed himself off, worried about what Circuit was going to say to him. Was she still mad about what he said? What was she going to say? Multiple negative responses jammed their way into Clank's mind. If he was an organic he would have been sweating. Well, he guessed it was time to hear what Circuit had to say. His optics lowered the slightest bit, prepared for the worst.

"That is good. Here you go," Circuit said, grabbing the back of Clank's hand and putting what appeared to be green fabric. He stared at it and blinked, then looked back up at Circuit. She placed her hands behind her back and smiled her usual cute smile, "You are right, it is not fair that I get clothing to keep me warm and you do not. After you made me realize that, I thought that you might like something to help keep you warm, so I made you this. It took me a few hours in order to get it right, but I am happy with the result, and I hope that you are too."

Clank tilted his head and then looked back down at the dark green fabric. He then used both hands to grip different ends of it, then he let it unfold as he held away from his body. The fabric unfolded and his jaw fell slightly. What he was holding was what he believed to be a dark green cloak. It was...marvelous. The stitching was flawless, no knots or broken thread to be seen. But what really caught his eye was the neck button, which consisted of a dark green button and a gray fabric gear. Circuit giggled nervously. "Sorry if the gear seems a bit ridiculous. I do not why, but whenever I think of your name, I always think of the 'C' as, like, half of a gear. It is strange to think that, I know, but I cannot help it."

Clank blinked a few times, feeling the soft fabric on his metallic fingers. Then he turned the cloak around and slipped his head through it, fitting it over his body. Circuit was right, it was warming him up already. The cloak sat comfortably on his shoulders, the gray gear laid peacefully on top of his metal case, and the hood sagged down on his back. The green eyed robot looked up at Circuit, who still had that cute smile. "Do you like it?"

Clank couldn't stop himself, he really couldn't. He took a step forward and hugged Circuit, who jumped, but she didn't push him away. Clank knew that this was fairly rude to just jump out and hug a girl, but he couldn't help it. He spent all this time thinking that she was mad at him, when in reality, she was making a cloak for him. She spent hours working on it, hours that could have been invested in doing something else, and all because she wanted to help keep him warm. He loved the cloak, and he loved Circuit. Speaking of which, he totally forgot to give her a response to her question, "I love the cloak, Circuit. It is most impressive. Thank you."

Circuit giggled and hugged Clank as well, but it didn't last for long because there was one thing that they had forgotten about.

"Ah-HEM. I'm sitting _right_ here," Ratchet said, startling the two robots. "So whenever you two are uh...are done..."

The two robots rolled their eyes and separated, sharing the same unamused look. Ratchet could be such a romantic buzzkill sometimes...well, all the time actually. They would try to go somewhere private, but there was no privacy that this room could provide, so the two robots just sat down next to each other, Circuit placing her head on Clank's shoulder. Meanwhile, Ratchet checked his communicator, which was still buzzing with an empty channel. He was getting pretty worried about Sasha and the soldiers. They had been here for several hours and there was still no sign of anyone from the Phoenix. Though he knew that they were capable of defending themselves, he hoped that none of them were in any danger.

Another hour passed by and the evening was coming on to Hoven (though it was a bit hard to tell because it was always cloudy and snowing there). Clank and Circuit had fallen asleep, forcing Ratchet to stay awake and stay alert for any danger. Every five minutes the Lombax would find himself checking his communicator, only to be disappointed by a still empty channel. He sighed and rested the back of his head on the wall, the coldness of the metal working its way through his leather cap and green eyes fell down and stared at the two robots sitting next to him. A small smile came onto his face. Clank looked pretty good in that green cloak, and it looked pretty comfortable and warm. Circuit seemed to be incredibly talented when it came to making clothing. Ratchet wondered if she could make anything for him, though it might be a challenge because he was a bigger size than she and Clank. But it might have been good for Circuit to challenge her creative skills, then she could see what she was truly capable of...

...

...

...!

Ratchet's ears stood up as the silence that had haunted the area for quite awhile was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Footsteps that were getting louder by the minute. Footsteps that were coming right for the room that they were in.

Alerted, Ratchet told Clank and Circuit to wake up because someone was coming (Clank and Circuit accidentally bonked heads when they woke up), then he grabbed his Omniwrench and stood up, facing the doorway. Clank grabbed Circuit and had them prepare themselves in case they had to make a run for it (all of this running was starting to get tiresome). They all grew more tense as the footsteps came closer...and closer...and closer...then they stopped, making them all feel a mixture of curiosity and worried. But that feeling was replaced by surprise as a figure suddenly stepped into the doorway, casting a long shadow on the floor. Ratchet nearly threw his Omniwrench, but he quickly stopped himself, the force of the sudden interruption made him throw himself down onto the ground. The figure laughed and then talked in a very familiar voice.

"I thought that I'd find you three here," Sasha said, taking the hood on her winter coat down.

"Mommy!" Circuit said happily, escaping from Clank's grip and running the Cazar, who picked her up and hugged her tightly.

"Thank god you guys are alright. I was worried sick until I finally found your escape pod over there. Circuit, you're not hurt are you? Clank?"

"No."

"I am fine as well."

Sasha sighed, "That's good."

"Yeah, I'm fine too, thanks for asking," Ratchet said, getting up off the ground and brushing himself off.

"I was getting to you," the Cazar said, her ears lowering a bit in annoyance.

Ratchet's ears mimicked Sasha's as he folded his arms. The four then settled down on the floor so they could be a bit more comfortable as Sasha gave them an update on the situation. Everyone on the Phoenix had been evacuated and made it out of the fight (mostly) unharmed. The bad news, though, was that they were scattered throughout all of the nearby planets, and only a few had landed here with Sasha, and they were currently at the Roboshack getting looked over by Edwina, who had told her where Ratchet, Clank and Circuit were. Sasha then told them that the person who attacked the ship still remained a mystery with her, but when she saw the looks on all of their faces when she said that, she knew that they knew something. It was then that they knew that they had to break the news to her, and it took a couple of stare based debates on who was going to tell her. It ended up being Clank. So, prepared for the reaction, Clank told the Cazar who was behind, or at least assisted, in the attack on the Starship Phoenix.

"Wyre?! It was Wyre who attacked you? You can't be serious!" Sasha said with disbelief.

"It is true, Sasha," Circuit said with a nod. "He attacked us while we were trying to find a hiding spot. He had a pack of robot wolves with him, the exact same kind that we saw on Zeldrin. He was the one who sent that wolf to attack us then."

"W-Well, I...I-I...I believe you guys b-but...wh...why? Why would he do such a thing? Why would he just turn on us, on _me_ , and help attack the Phoenix?"

"That's the interesting and possibly the most concerning part of the story," Ratchet chimed in. "Clank and Circuit told me that they heard Wyre say that he needed Zoni."

"Okay, again with the Zoni stuff! What is a Zoni?" Sasha said, irritated. She had heard the three mention this 'Zoni' several times now, but she still had no idea what it was, and it was starting to get on her curious nerves.

Clank glanced at Ratchet (as Circuit played with a pebble that was on the floor), wondering what he thought about telling Sasha about the existence of Zoni. The Lombax raised an eyebrow before nodding his head to the Cazar, telling him that it would be alright. Besides, it was Sasha, she wouldn't end up like Nefarious and try to manipulate the Zoni or anything like that. So, Clank sighed a bit and explained to Sasha what the Zoni were. At first, she looked a bit...unconvinced at the sound of a race of small blue and purple aliens who could turn invisible and travel through space and time. But, as Clank went on to explain their ordeal with Nefarious all those years ago, her disbelief vanished and turned into amazement. Now that she thought about it, Circuit did tell her about a blue and purple creature that she met in the afterlife, Orvus she believed, and she had told her that he was a Zoni, but she didn't know what that was at the time. She became even more surprised when she found out that both Clank and Circuit were part of the Zoni race themselves. Sasha's daughter was part of a rare race, and she didn't even know! But, with all of this news and amazement, she still had one question:

"So...what does Wyre want with a Zoni?"

"That's what we're still trying to figure out," Ratchet said, scratching his ear. "But, whatever the reason, we know that it can't be good."

"It is very possible that he wants a Zoni so he can get to the Clock," Clank said with a worried tone.

"That's not possible. Only the Fongoids and Nefarious know of the Clock's existence. How could Wyre know about it?"

"I do not know. How could Wyre know what a Zoni is? All of this information is supposed to be kept a secret, but Wyre has discovered it somehow, and I wish to know how."

"But how are we going to get to Wyre and find out how he knows all of this?" Circuit asked. "If we try to go to the Phoenix then we will just be attacked again. And I do not want that to happen again. Do you have any ideas, Ratchet?"

Ratchet looked down at Circuit, who was staring right back at him with her big purple eyes, waiting for an answer. A frown came onto his face and his ears lowered a bit more. It was nice that Circuit was getting involved in all of this and showing a more heroic side of herself, but he believed that she had gone in deep enough. The Lombax reached forward and picked the small robot up, then handed her to Sasha. Circuit tiled her head at him. Ratchet ignored the look and turned his attention to Sasha. He pointed at the robot in her arms. "Sasha, I know we're in a tight spot right now, but we need to do this. Go to Edwina's and see if she has a ship that you can use. If she does, I want you to take Circuit home to Kerwan."

"What?" Circuit said, a tad upset. "Why would you...?"

"Circuit, this situation is too severe for you to be here," Ratchet said firmly. "It's become too dangerous. If you fight with us, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you'll be killed in an instant. I've already lost you once, I'm not gonna lose you again."

Circuit stared at the Lombax with sad eyes before her gaze sunk down to the floor. Ratchet felt bad for her, but he knew that he had to make sure that she was safe. He looked at Sasha again, "Big Al will take care of her. We'll pick her up once this is all over with, alright?"

"R-Right..." Sasha looked down at Circuit, who seemed very upset. Big, sad violet eyes stared up at her, and they were saying 'please let me stay'. Sasha sighed, she would have loved for Circuit to stay, but Ratchet was right, she was in too much danger. She couldn't be in this dangerous situation with them, she could be killed! So, she placed a hand on the robot's head, "Come on, Circuit."

"W-Wait!" Circuit said, squirming her way out of the Cazar's grasp. She slid onto the floor then scrambled onto her feet. "I have to say bye." Ratchet felt sadness wash over him as Circuit said that, then he opened his arms a bit so she could jump up and hug him. However, his eyes went a bit wide as Circuit went past him and hugged Clank instead. "Bye, Clank."

"I will see you later, Circuit," Clank replied somewhat sadly.

Ratchet stared at Circuit with both disbelief and curiosity. He was sure that she wanted to say bye to him, but she had completely ignored him like he wasn't even there! This was definitely a first for her. It was almost like...though it didn't seem likely due to past events, but...it was almost like Circuit was...was mad at him...because he wouldn't let her stay. Was this it? Had Circuit finally learned to be mad and irritated by him? If it was, that was both great and depressing. Great because she was learning to express more feelings properly, and depressing because, well...she was mad at her father! But Ratchet couldn't really blame her, he would be pretty mad if someone made him go home during a mission. But if was for the best; he just wanted Circuit to be safe. And if that meant sending her home to stay with Al, then so be it-

 _Rrrrrrrr...Rrrrrr..._

Both Ratchet and Sasha's ears perked up at the sound of a strange deep ringing noise. They both looked at each other, confirming that the other had heard it. Clank and Circuit didn't pick it up though, so they were confused about these strange expressions on their friends' faces. They watched as Ratchet slowly got up and walked over to the doorway, the cold wind tossing his ears about gently as he stepped outside. He told them that he would be back in a second, and that it was just the wind making that noise (again, Clank and Circuit didn't hear it, so they were still confused). Sasha found herself reaching forward and grabbing the two robot, pulling them towards her and hugging them tightly. Circuit coward a bit in her arms, but a reassuring Clank hand on her shoulder calmed her a bit. But the calmed feeling didn't last for long, because Ratchet suddenly came rushing back, nearly slipping on the ice as he grabbed onto the door way. His eyes were wide and he already had his Omniwrench at the ready.

"They're here. They found us. And they brought the Phoenix and a couple hundred Microdrones with them. So uh...get ready for a fight!"

* * *

 **Well...looks like they're gonna have a bad time (Insert Sans dialogue sound).**

 **Things are gettin' kind of tense between the protagonists, huh? I can't explain it, but I just feel this...uneasy air between them right now. I dunno, maybe I'm just tired.**

 **Anyway, what do you guys think about Clank's new cloak? Pretty cool, eh? I thought that it would look nice on him. Plus, I decided that just having Circuit wear clothing and not Clank was kind of awkward, so I gave Clank the cloak so it wouldn't seem so weird.**

 **Ohhh boy, the next chapter is gonna be so...I'm not gonna say. I don't want to spoil anything. But...y'all might not be happy with me. Just a warning.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	26. Chapter 26

The people and creature of Hoven screamed in terror as the Starship Phoenix, or as it could be now called "The Battleship Phoenix", entered the skies. It casted a large shadow over the land, causing the once sparkling pearl grounds to be shrouded in a deadly darkness. The belly of the ship opened, deploying hundreds of Microdrones, all of which had only two targets: the Zoni Prince and the female Zoni. In the ship, Lucius Dukes smiled as he watched the people scatter about, while Wyre looked down below, locating an escape pod from the Phoenix. He chuckled, which sounded a bit unsettling, and narrowed his yellow eyes ("We got 'em now.")

Ratchet ducked inside the shelter, where an angry Sasha and frightful Clank and Circuit (mostly Circuit) stood. This was bad. How in the world did they find them? They couldn't have downloaded the coordinates, the only way to get them was to hack the terminal! Damn that Wyre...it looked like that they would have to fight their way through his little army again. Meanwhile, he had to do something with his Zoni friends. If they kept hiding in here, then they could easily be cornered by Microdrones since there was only one way out of the room. So, it looked like that they would have to use the only option left.

A Microdrone came flying down into the doorway, catching Ratchet's attention. He quickly whacked it with his wrench before it could alert its fellow drones, and it went spiraling into the chasm below. Ratchet turned to Clank and Circuit, "Clank! Circuit! You guys need of get out of here, now!"

"Ratchet, there a hundreds of Microdrones out there looking for us!" Clank said. "You cannot take on all of them by yourself, you will be killed!"

"I'm not alone," the Lombax argued. "I've still got Sasha and a few soldiers to fight with. We'll be fine, Clank, trust me. Now you and Circuit make a run for it."

"B-But...Ratchet-" Circuit started, but was startled by Ratchet hitting another Microdrone and yelling.

"NOW!"

"We'll be fine, Circuit," Sasha said, equipping herself with a Combustor. "You and Clank get to safety. Remember, it's you they want, not us."

"But..." She trailed off as Clank pulled his cloak's hood over his head and grabbing her hand. He yanked her over to the wall and peeked out the doorway. There were swarms of drones out there, but not many of them seemed too suspicious about this area. Ratchet told him that he had them covered as he held up his Omniwrench. Clank nodded, and then carefully pulled himself and Circuit out of the shelter and onto the icy cliff. Several drones located them and shot straight for them, only to end up being smashed by Ratchet's wrench. The Lombax told them to go faster as more and more drones seemed to have detected him, and Clank pulled Circuit quickly yet carefully among the cliff side until, eventually, they reached safer ground.

However, they found themselves facing a bigger issue than icy ground: the way that they went led straight to a dead end. There was nothing to escape to but a wall of rock (and a Roboshack, but Clank didn't want to drag Edwina into this). Clank looked over his shoulder worryingly; more and more drones were coming towards them, and Ratchet and Sasha couldn't keep every single one at bay. They had to get over this cliff, or else they would be in the hands of Wyre in no time. There was only one option at this point. He turned to Circuit, who looked about ready to blow out a wire or something. He couldn't blame her for being scared because, truth be told, he was pretty scared as well.

"Circuit, are your wings fully operational?" Clank asked.

"My wings? Umm...yes, they should have recovered from the accident by now," Circuit replied with a nod.

"Good. On the count of three, I want you to activate them and go straight up, and make sure that you stay behind me. I do not want us separating along the way."

Clank activated his wings, the emerald green not getting the chance to shine brilliantly due to the shadow that the Phoenix was casting, but Circuit did not activate anything. Instead, she tapped on Clank's shoulder nervously, "Clank...?"

"What-oh dear!"

Upon turning around, Clank discovered that they had been cornered by a gang of Tyhrranoids. Their creepy red eyes glared at them, and they spoke in their odd and somewhat unpleasant language ("Why is one of their words pronounced by passing gas?" "I do not know, and I personally do not want to know.") The The two robots looked over at Ratchet and Sasha and hoped that they could help them, but they were too busy fighting off other creatures. Clank and Circuit were all on their own drew closer; their options were running out fast. If they stood there, then the Tyhrranoids would run them over, but if they flew, the Tyhrranoids could easily toss each other at them. These things weren't smart, but they sure could take things down. The two robots looked over at Ratchet and Sasha and hoped that they could help them, but they were too busy fighting off other creatures. Clank and Circuit were all on their own.

Or were they?

To the left of them, a blast of blue energy swept by in front of them, taking out multiple Tyhrranoids at once. Clank and Circuit, who nearly had heart attacks, looked to their left and saw several soldiers, one of which was Spark, standing outside the Roboshack, armed with their arm guns. Spark waved to the two and pointed up the cliff.

"We got these little punks, now get up the cliff! Stay safe, Circe!"

"Thank you, Spark!" Circuit called back, reaching behind her and unzipping the two slots on her jacket. Her purple Robo-Wings shot out of them. "I am ready whenever you are."

Clank nodded and turned his body back towards the cliff. He looked over his shoulder, giving Ratchet once last glance. His eyes narrowed in a slight sad position as he watched his friend fight without him. He hoped that he would be okay. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Clank gave a flap of his wings, Circuit following in a similar fashion. However, even though she had flown with them before, Circuit was still having trouble when it came to actual flying. So much so that she was falling behind...fast. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, but it only did so much for her. Clank looked down and saw her struggling. He called down to her.

"Do you require assistance?"

"No! No, I am fine-oof!" Circuit bumped into the cliff, nearly ripping her jacket in the process. She gripped the rocky cliff, attempting to stay up. "I-I am fine, trust me! Let me just..." The girl positioned herself and her wings so she was lying down in mid air, not going straight up. Maybe it would help when pushing her up. So, confident in the new position, Circuit took a useless deep breathe and flapped her wings as hard as she possibly could. She went up alright...but a little too hard.

"WAHH!" Circuit yelped as she shot up like a bullet. Clank's eyes went wide as he saw her come closer at a rapid pace. Soon, she ended up crashing into him, sending them both shooting upwards.

"I believe that you could use some lessons in aviation," Clank said, his voice cracking and his body hurting.

"Clank, there are a lot of good times to be witty, but while being in mid air during an invasion is not one of them," Circuit replied.

"Sorry. Where are we going to land, anyway?"

The two robots looked down and saw that they had indeed made it over the cliff, which was good, but they were also heading straight for a snow bank...a steep snow bank...which was bad.

Clank and Circuit quickly latched onto each other and yelled as they plummeted into the snow. The first landing was pretty rough, but it didn't stop there. The two robot slid down the snowy and icy slope, not letting go of each other. There were several rocks on the way down, but they managed to dodge them all...barely. The bumpy ride was about to come to a stop, but there was a giant snow bank at the bottom, and both of them were well aware of that. They hugged each other and yelled again as they crashed into large piles of snow, leaving Clank/Circuit shaped holes as they entered. It took a moment for both of them to recover. They felt dazed and dizzy, not to mention they were now freezing. Clank shook his head and set his optics straight and was about to ask Circuit if she was alright, but she burst out of the snow with a surprisingly happy face.

"Hahahaa! That was awesome! Can we go again?"

Clank gave her a certain unamused look before shaking his head, "You really are Ratchet's child."

The green eyed robot began brushing the snow off of his new cloak as he walked through the snow, Circuit following close behind. He looked around the area; it seemed like that this place was clear of Microdrones and Tyhrranoids, but it probably wouldn't stay that way for long. They would have to keep going if they wanted to find somewhere to lay low in. Circuit looked behind her and said that she hoped that Ratchet and Sasha were alright, but Clank assured her that they would be fine with the soldiers by their sides, and that seemed to ease her a bit. The male then grabbed her hand and kept leading her away from the Battleship Phoenix. The farther they were from that ship, the better.

The downside of the cliff was laced with slippery slopes and sharp rocks, making the area extremely dangerous, so Clank told Circuit to be very careful. She agreed and watched her footing carefully. The two robots walked for several more minutes, keeping watch in case any wolves or Tyhrranoids or anything came into view of even earshot, but it seemed that there was nothing around that wanted to cause them harm...or was there?

Near the end of a slope, the sound of buzzing caught the attention of Clank and Circuit. As if by instinct, Clank grabbed his friend's shoulders and ducked behind a fairly large rock. Clank felt his heart pulse rapidly as he kept hearing the buzzing. Nothing on Hoven would make that exact sound, so it had to have been something of Wyre's, a scout of some sort. He was just glad that it wasn't growling; he didn't feel like dealing with another wolf. The green eyed robot glanced around one side of the rock while Circuit went to the other end and looked. They scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary, and their results came up fast. There was a small robot lying on the ground several feet away. It was squirming a bit and buzzed annoyingly. Clank's eyes narrowed in hate as Circuit tilted her head. It was just a lone robot making all of the noise, and it looked like that it was struggling to get up. Her eyes went a bit wide as she thought that something was wrong with it, and she also identified the robot's model.

"Oh...ohh, it is one of those Microdrones," Circuit said, recognizing the type of robot. She wondered why it was lying on the ground instead of hovering around with its friends. It was then that she realized that it was attempting to get up, but it couldn't for some reason. There were also several small dents in its small body. Circuit frowned, "Oh no, it is injured."

Circuit got out of hiding and walked towards the Microdrone, but Clank called out to her, "Circuit, what are you doing? Get back here, right now! Do not touch that Microdrone!"

The female ignored him as she came up to the drone. It looked up at her as she attempted to lay a hand on it, its one big digital eye narrowing in an angry position. It swiped at her with its metal claws, electricity flying between them with every attempt to strike. Circuit stepped back and placed her hands on her waist, giving the Microdrone a disapproving look. It tried to hit her again, but she ended up hitting it instead. She slapped one if its metal claws (not too hard or course), wincing a bit as she felt the effects of the electric shock. Then she pointed at the drone, "No! That is a bad Microdrone! Bad!"

Surprisingly, instead of getting angry, the Microdrone let its arms and claws fall to the ground and into the snow. It had its eye in a sad position now, and that made Circuit a bit sad. She got down on one knee and carefully placed both of her hands on it, making the drone jump. "No no no, it is alright. I am just looking at the damage." She observed the rusty red drone, and she detected the several dents in its body. The poor thing must have fallen down while being deployed. But...why did it fall? Microdrones were able to hover and fly with an Anti-Gravity unit located on the bottom of its body. With that in mind, Circuit scanned the drone, bringing up blueprints in it, along with a name. Interested in what it was, she read it out loud. "Aerial Robotic Extraction and Neutralizing Drone? So...Arend, right?" The drone shifted its body up and down in an attempt to nod. Circuit smiled, "That is a nice name. I like it."

Arend's eye then went into a position that made it look like that it was happy. Circuit smiled at it again before locating the problem. After checking the drone's scan, she located the issue, which was a damaged Anti-Grav unit. She looked at the unit itself, and sure enough, it was busted. Circuit patted Arend, "Your Anti-Gravity unit is damaged, that is why you cannot fly. I wish that I could repair it but...wait a minute...!" Circuit looked at the 'Upgrade' option in her system. Maybe, if she was lucky, she might be able to upgrade Arend's Anti-Grav unit. Then he could fly back to his ship and be properly repaired. Deciding that that was the right thing to do, she pulled up and selected her 'Upgrade' option, then she became surrounded by the familiar glowing light blue cylinder. However, before she could even have the options pull up, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back, dispersing the blue light.

"Circuit, what are you doing? Did you damage your CPU in that crash?" Clank asked angrily.

"No, it is still fully functional," Circuit replied innocently.

"Then why are you trying to repair one of Wyre's robots? If you fix it, it will go and alert its fellow drones and reveal our location!"

"You do not know that. Plus, I cannot just leave him here! He will die!"

"And this drone is different then all of the ones you just saw Ratchet kill how...?"

"Well, I...I do not uh...I-I umm...I-I do not know! But I do not want to just leave him here, I have to fix him. I cannot explain it but...I just see the good in him. I know that he will not tell Wyre! Please Clank, please let me fix Arend! He will not tell, I promise!"

Clank placed his hands on his waist, his green cloak swishing slightly, and looked down at Circuit. Her eyes were big and pleading (and very purple). The robot sighed. As much as he wanted to shoot her a disapproving look, he guessed that he would trust her judgement, and pointed to...'Arend'. "Please try to do this quickly so we do not attract any attention."

Circuit smiled happily and thanked Clank (when he felt his face becoming a bit warm, he pulled his cloak hood over part of his eyes, which made Circuit giggle), then she remade the blue cylinder. She shifted back towards Arend who was looking a little tired. But he became a bit more awake when he saw was Circuit was doing. She gave a warm smile, "Do not worry, this will not hurt. Though part of you will glow for a second or two, but just stay calm, alright?"

Arend nodded and laid there as Circuit pushed him up a bit and scanned his Anti-Gravity unit. The scan showed up in the blue light, then it shrunk down into a small rectangular button that said 'Gadgets'. It placed itself right next to the 'Weapons' option. Circuit was excited now. Not only could she upgrade weapons, but she could upgrade, or at least repair, gadgets as well. She reached over and selected the 'Gadgets' section, then hit 'Anti-Grav Unit'. Using her finger, she pinpointed the location of Arend's unit, and then it told her to release the Zoni energy to complete the process. Circuit sighed, here comes the hard part. The purple eyed robot put both of her hands forward and pushed with all of her might. A must misty light emitted from her arms, hands, and fingers, and it flowed to where she was aiming: Arend. The misty light went into Arend and his Anti-Grav unit began to glow with it.

After several seconds of pushing, Circuit put her hands down as the blue light around her dispersed once more. She nearly collapsed and her eyes became a bit dim as she recovered from losing so much energy at once. Upgrading stuff was great and helpful, but it really took it out of her. Clank helped her get back on her feet while Arend used his metal claws to push himself off of the ground and he hovered a few ground off of the ground. Circuit smiled as life started filling her eyes again.

"It really did work. Do you feel better, Arend?" The Microdrone bobbed its body up and down in order to mimic a nod. "That is great. Now you must go back to the Phoenix and get properly repaired before the Zoni energy runs out. What I upgrade does not stay upgraded for long."

Arend nodded again, then hovered over to Circuit and nuzzled the side of her head, making her giggle. Then she nodded to the Phoenix, "Go on now, before your friends start to worry."

Circuit patted Arend on the head and watched as the Microdrone took off and turned into a tiny dot in the distance. A slightly sad look then came onto her face. She hoped that Arend would be alright. Clank tugged on her jacket and told her that they should keep moving, and she obeyed. As they began moving again, Clank adjusted his cloak and looked at his friend. "Circuit, put up your hood. It is getting colder and I do not want you catching anything."

Circuit gave him a strange look before putting her hood up, the plush Lombax ears standing up. Her tail swished back and forth a few times before she said, "I put my hood up but...what exactly am I going to catch? I am a robot, Clank, I cannot catch a virus like an organic."

"Oh! Right. Hehehehe," the male said, rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment. "Sorry, I am just so used to saying that to Ratchet when we are in a cold area. But keep your hood up anyway, I do not want you getting cold."

"Heh, alright."

The next few minutes went by in silence as Clank and Circuit made their way through the deep snow. Every once in awhile, Clank would narrow his eyes and look back and forth, checking the area for any dangers, and Circuit would looked over her shoulder, wondering if her Microdrone friend was alright. She hoped that the Zoni energy was still at a decent amount in his Anti-Grav unit. The thought of it running out and Arend falling to the ground was enough to make her optics lower sadly. She needed reassurance. The small robot reached forward and tugged on Clank's cloak.

"Yes, Circuit?" Clank asked.

"Umm...Clank? Do you think that Arend will make it to the Phoenix alright?"

"I am sure that he will be fine," Clank said, with the slightest hint of irritation in his voice, which made Circuit's eyes go a bit wide. What was his problem? Was he still mad that she helped the Microdrone?

"Clank, there is no need to sound so irritated-"

"I am not irritated."

"Yes you are."

"No I am not."

"I can read the tones of your voice like a book. You are mad."

"I am not."

"Yes."

"No."

"Look, if you are still worried about Arend, do not be. You saw what he acted like, he was harmless! Besides, if Arend was going to tell Wyre that we were over here, then Wyre would have been here by now!"

The next voice that came made both of the robot's hearts stop.

"Yes, I suppose that I am a few moments late." Clank and Circuit jumped badly as Wyre's voice suddenly came up. They turned around slowly and saw the doctor robot standing behind them, several wolves standing alongside him. An evil smile came upon his face, "Hello."

"Circuit, run!" Clank cried out, pushing Circuit forward. The two robots made a run for it, but Wyre was prepared for that. He heaved a gun out from behind him and fired it, stopping the Zoni in their tracks as a blue orb formed around them. An electrical current ran across the blue barrier. Clank gasped, he knew what gun that was, and it was not a good one. Circuit whimpered a bit, frightened of their strange prison.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Wyre asked. "Mag-Net Launcher got your freedom? Well, maybe I can be of assistance, right after you two assist us. Gamma, Beta, Omega, bring them back to the ship. And be gentle. I heard that Zoni can be frail creatures."

Clank grunted in frustration, attempting to fight against the Mag-Net's hold, but it had him in solid suspension, he could barely move at all. Meanwhile, Circuit could feel her heart rate increasing at a very unhealthy rate. She was well aware that she didn't need to breathe, but she found herself hyperventilating. This wasn't happening...this wasn't happening! She yelped as a few wolves picked up their prison and started running, not walking, but running off with them. They were going away...away from her parents! She was being kidnapped! Circuit hyperventilating seemed to increase as memories of Nefarious and his base flashed before her violet eyes. No! No, not again! Next thing she knew, she was yelling out.

"R-Ratchet! RATCHET, HELP! SASHA! HELP!"

"Hey! Shut the hell up!" Wyre said angrily, glaring at the robot. Then he folded his arms and pointed a finger at his wolves, "Or else I'll be feeding my wolves early. After all...we only really need one Zoni."

Circuit looked down at the wolves below and saw their sharp teeth and hungry expressions. Their yellow eyes seemed to pierce her very soul. So, not wanting to be torn apart by robot wolves, Circuit closed her eyes tight and tried to control her non-needed breathing and heart rate. Then she nearly jumped out of her metal casing as she felt something brush against her hand. But, upon opening her eyes, she found out that it was just Clank, who was attempting to grab her hand. However, the Mag-Net was making hand movement very difficult, so he could just offer her a face. A face that told her that everything would be okay and that he was there for her. She wasn't alone. But this face wasn't enough to calm Circuit down. How could she calm down in a situation like this? She was being taken away again...away from Ratchet again.

"Mommy...daddy...help," she muttered to herself, closing her eyes once more.

* * *

 **Well...things just took a turn for the worst now didn't it?**

 **Now, before I start any of my Author's Notes antics or anything like that, I'm actually gonna warn you guys about next chapter. This is when that Rated T rating is gonna start kicking in. Because there's uhh...well, though I don't want to spoil anything...there's gonna be torture scenes in the next chapter. Nothing over the top or too gruesome, but it's still, you know...torture! So go into Chapter 27 prepared, alright?**

 **On a lighter note, Wyre finally captured Clank and Circuit...wait, that's not lighter. That's not lighter at all! Let me try this again-**

 **On a darker note, Wyre finally captured Clank and Circuit! And Ratchet and Sasha don't know...so this is bad. Very bad.**

 **Also can, like, someone leave a review on Chapter 24? Cause that chapter didn't get any reviews and it's bothering the crap out of me!**

 **In fact, this story seems to be really lacking in reviews lately. Either my regular reviewers aren't around right now, or they've lost interest in the story...I really hope it's the first one. Anyway, yeah, if we could get some more reviewers flowin' in here, that would really help me!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	27. Chapter 27

This was becoming a very big problem very quickly, but that wasn't stopping Ratchet from having tons of fun.

Microdrones were swarming them, and Ratchet was having a blast while he swung his wrench back and forth, watching the chain reaction of drones flying into drones. His record so far was seventeen and he was trying to get to twenty. Sasha rolled her eyes every time he let out an amused 'woohoo!'. They were being attacked by electrically charged drones with the intent of killing them and getting his best friend and daughter, and he decided to have the time of his life instead of taking all of this seriously. She took back her earlier statement about the Lombax growing in maturity. He was still the trigger-happy Lombax that she knew all of those years ago...only a tiny bit more tolerable.

"Here comes the pitch!" Ratchet said, holding his Omniwrench over his shoulder and bending his knees like a batter. Three drones were shooting like bullets at him and, when they got close enough, he swung his wrench and sent the three flying into the chasm. He was about to make a ridiculous baseball reference when some Tyhrranoids began rolling towards them. Before he could get his wrench back into position, Sasha nailed the three with her Combustor, making the Lombax glare at her. "What the heck? I had them!"

"Uh-huh, sure you did," Sasha replied, twirling her gun in her hand. She had a slightly smug smile on her face and her eyes on Ratchet as she pointed it straight out to her left and put it in the face of a Microdrone, then she pulled the trigger.

Ratchet shook his head, "Showoff." Then he whipped around, sending several Tyhrranoids flying.

Then everything suddenly stopped. The Microdrones stopped, the Tyhrranoids stopped, Sasha and Ratchet stopped, and the soldiers stopped. There was a sound echoing in the distance, and it was one that Ratchet felt like that he should recognize, or at least know what the source of it was. The creatures who were just attacking them turned around as they heard the sound of howling. A wolf howling. Then the bottom of the Battleship Phoenix opened up, which made Ratchet's ears lower a bit. Even more enemies? Come on!

However, no enemies came out of the ship. Instead, all of the Microdrones in the area picked up some Tyhrranoids and flew towards the Phoenix. The Q-Force stood there as they watched all of their enemies retreat. They knew that they should have felt happy, but instead, a worried feeling came on. Why were they retreating already? They haven't been here for that long, and the authorities weren't around, just them. The only reason why they would leave so suddenly was if they completed...their...mission...w-wait...Clank and Circuit did get away, right? They were in a safe hiding spot, right? There was no way...they couldn't have been...

Sasha's ears lowered as she began thinking the exact same thing, "Why are they leaving? Ratchet, why are they leaving? Th-They're just retreating, right?"

The Lombax's eyes went wide as he watched the Battleship Phoenix close and begin to leave. There was only one logical reason for why they were leaving so suddenly, and it was this reason that made Ratchet burst into a sprint. He ran towards the Phoenix, reaching a hand forward. He had to get to them before they took off. He wasn't ready...he wasn't ready to lose them both! Why didn't he just keep them with him? This was all his fault!

"Clank! Circuit!" He cried out as the Phoenix closed and lifted higher into the air, quickly being consumed by the clouds. As the Lombax ran, he didn't even bother to check his footing, and he slipped on a patch of ice, landing hard on the rocky ground. Sasha quickly came to his side, kneeling down and placing a hand on the Lombax's back. Ratchet propped himself up, putting his wrist on the bloody cut on his forehead and looked at the sky. His ears lowered all the way when he was unable to locate the Phoenix. One of his hands balled up into a fist and he slammed it on the ground. "Damn it, it's gone! They got away! They got away with...with Clank and Circuit...they're gone..no. Not again...I-I can't lose both of them again!"

"Ratchet, please calm down-" Sasha was quickly interrupted.

"Calm down? How can I calm down? My best friend and daughter were just kidnapped and taken to...god knows where!" Ratchet snapped.

"Yeah, and you know what? Complaining about it isn't gonna get them any closer to us!"

"Whatever. And you have no room to talk; you have no idea what this feels like!"

"Yes I do!"

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Because Circuit's _my_ daughter, too!"

Ratchet and Sasha stared at each other angrily for a few moments. There was tension hanging in the air between them and blood running down Ratchet's face, staining his fur. The soldiers watched frightfully in the distance, worried that a fight was about to break out. But, instead of any punches being thrown, Ratchet's face softened and he rested his aching head on his arm, causing the blood flow to make a ninety-degree turn and drip onto the ground. He took a few deep breaths before sighing mostly to himself.

"Sorry, Sasha. I know that Circuit is your kid, too. And that Clank is also your friend. It's just...well I've lost both of them at one point, and you weren't there to share any of the pain I felt, so...I guess I kinda took offense when you told me to calm down."

Sasha's face also softened. She then, though it was unexpected of her, placed a hand on the side of Ratchet's face, feeling the soft fur underneath. "I may have not felt any pain last time...but I feel it now. And it hurts...it hurts a lot."

Ratchet groaned a bit as he sat up, the blood flowing from his cut changing directions again. Sasha took her hand off of him and used it to look at the injury. When she touched it, Ratchet jerked back and yelped in pain, "AHHGH! Don't touch it! That really freaking hurt!"

A small smile formed on Sasha's face, but it soon disappeared as she looked up into the sky. Ratchet looked up with her. "So what do we do now? If they've got Clank and Circuit, then we need to track them down fast before they can get away with them."

"Yeah, but...we don't have a ship," Ratchet said. "And the escape pods shut down for good once they get to their destination, so we can't take those."

"Then what are we supposed to do? If Wyre gets away..."

"I-I...I don't know what to do..." the Lombax said, a mixture of anger and sadness taking over his emotions. "I don't know..."

 _Meanwhile on the Battleship Phoenix..._

Wolves carried the Mag-Net sphere through the hallways of the Phoenix, Wyre gleefully leading them. He kept talking to himself about how he was going to get so much recognition from 'him'. He also talked about getting a lot of power and the struggles and succession of capturing the two Zoni. Wyre went over the process of capturing Clank and Circuit in an overly detailed and exaggerated manner, making the two robots look at him with both a strange and disapproving expression (also a tad of fear...well, more than a tad for Circuit).

Wyre kept going on like this until they reached the ship's brig. He opened up a cell and told the wolves to place Clank and Circuit inside. They obeyed and rolled the orb inside the fairly small cell, then Wyre removed the Mag-Net from them, making the two robots fall to the ground. But not before the net gave them a shock, weakening both of them. Wyre apologized and said that he couldn't have them using their strength to escape.

When Circuit fell to the ground, she landed right on top of a sensitive part of her, and it hurt so bad that she was on the verge of tears, "OW! I...I landed on my tail..."

"Oh, a tail! Why did you get one of those?" Wyre asked. The two robots gave him a look and his yellow eyes went a bit wide, "Oh...right...my Fusion Bomb...sorry bout that..." The robot doctor when straightened his coat and placed one hand behind his back, "Now the, if you'll excuse me, there's someone here who's dying to meet the two of you. I'm gonna go fetch him real quick."

An angry face formed on Clank's face as he grabbed Circuit's shoulders in attempt to calm her (she was shaking) and watched Wyre leave. He opened his mouth to say something, but Wyre popping back into the cell stopped him. "By the way, correct me if I'm wrong but...I believe that this belongs to one of you. I found it while raising some of the rooms, and I don't need or even want it."

Circuit's eyes went wide as Wyre reached into his pocket and pulled out Little Ratchey. He tossed it onto the ground and then exited the cell, locking the door behind him. Circuit, even though she had almost no energy, lunged forward and grabbed the stuffed animal. She scooted into the corner, Clank watching curiously, and observed it. There were no rips or tears, thank goodness, but there were a few faint burn marks. One of the Microdrones must have picked it up and burnt it a bit with its electricity.

Circuit sighed in relief, the only thing that mattered was that her toy wasn't destroyed. She wanted to feel happy, she really did, but, as she looked down at the Ratchet lookalike stuffed animal, she felt a great wave of despair wash over her. Ratchet...she had been taken away from Ratchet. And she didn't know when she was ever going to see him again. Heck she didn't know if she would ever see him again; her captor might kill her before she got the chance to. It was knowing that this possibility existed, and the fact that she was being held captive in a dark cell and being tormented by evil people, that made tears form in Circuit's calming purple eyes and roll down her face. She hugged Little Ratchey tight and curled up into a little sobbing ball.

Clank looked at his friend with pity, feeling the scared atmosphere looming over her. He scooted over to her, placing his hand on her back and pulling her into a tight embrace. Circuit kept hugging Little Ratchey as she placed her head on Clank's shoulder and continued to sob. The male's eyes were in a sad position at first, but then they went into a more angry one. Wyre was going to pay for what he was doing to them, what he was doing to Circuit. He was going to get her out of here. He didn't care what he had to do, but he was going to get her out of here and back to Ratchet and Sasha.

The door to the cell suddenly opened, causing both robots to jump. Clank then hugged Circuit even tighter as a pair of wolves and Wyre came in. There was another person who walked in, but he didn't recognize him. But he was a cyborg, which was pretty interesting; those were very rare. His electric blue eye gazed at the two robots and Clank felt Circuit's shaking increase.

"So," the man said, "these are the two that we've been hunting all this time. Not gonna lie, I thought that you would have been a bit bigger." None of the robots responded, but Clank was shooting an angry glare at him. "Don't look at me like that, I only did this because I had to. But, if you two cooperate, then we will let you go unharmed. Alright?"

"Why would we cooperate with...whoever you are?" Clank said bitterly.

"Oh right, where are my manners? The name is Lucius Dukes, first cyborg to own Zordoom Prison," Dukes replied. "And you two must be the Zoni. The male and the...hold on, movie out of the way. I can barely see the female."

Dukes reached a hand out for Circuit, but Clank, without any form of hesitation, smacked his hand away, "Do not touch her!"

"Ooh, ooh the man wants to protect the lady," the cyborg said in a mocking voice, turning to Wyre. "Oh, it looks like that the prince has found his princess. How cute."

Clank's glare seemed to grow more intense as Dukes mocked him. He tried to move the purpose of all of this along, "Why did you bring us here?"

"It's simple, my Zoni boy. You two are Zoni, and have information that we desire."

"Hey, Lucius, I think it might help if you be less vague," Wyre said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

"No was was talking to you, Wyre!" Dukes snapped. "But you're right, I should get to the point. Zoni, I have one simple question for you. And if you answer is with no struggle whatsoever, then we'll free you."

"And that question would be?" Clank asked, trying to hide the panic under his glare. He had a good feeling about what they were going to ask him. And sure enough, Dukes leaned forward, his blue eyes tearing into them.

"Where is the clock?"

"Hmph, as if I would reveal that information to you."

"Very well. You, Zoni girl! Where's the clock?" Dukes asked Circuit, who went wide eyed.

"You do not have to answer that, Circuit," Clank said, looking down at his friend.

"Th-that is good," Circuit replied. "Because I uh...I do not know where it is."

Circuit wasn't lying either. Though she had lived at the Great Clock for a year, Sigmund never told her where the clock was actually located. Though, even if she did knew, she would never tell these bad guys. But Lucius thought that he was seeing through a lie that Circuit never told. He spoke in a calm yet tense voice.

"Alright you two, let me make this clear. I've been waiting for years for this moment. And I'm gonna have my plans ruined by two tin cans who don't want to talk. So, let's try this again. Where. Is. The clock?"

Clank closed his eyes and turned away and Circuit shook her head. Dukes folded his arms and Wyre got suddenly excited, thinking that he was about to be allowed to torment the Zoni with his wolves. The wolves themselves caught on too and began to growl at the robots, striking fear into them. However, Dukes put a hand up and the wolves seized their growling (Wyre also returning to his place on the wall). If these Zoni weren't going to talk, then they would have to take more drastic measures. Somewhat...illegal measures.

Dukes shrugged, "Fine. If you two want to keep your mouths shut, then I guess we'll have to take our interrogation to the next level."

'What do you mean?" Clank asked.

"What I mean is that I have a little...little surprise for you two when we get to our destination. I'm not promising that you'll like it though. Wyre!"

Wyre nearly fell over as his superior called him, but he quickly stood at attention. "Yeah?"

"Until we get to our destination, I don't want a single finger to be laid on these two. They'll get enough of that soon enough."

"Oh, alright...can I scare them with the wolves?"

"No, Wyre."

"Alright. Good talk, sir," Wyre said as his boss left the room. Then his shoulders dropped and he sighed; he really wanted to scare the Zoni with his wolves, it would have been fun. But he supposed that he had gotten plenty of that earlier, so he stood back up and left the room, leaving Clank and Circuit without another own. Circuit shifted uncomfortably as a tense filled silence came into the cell.

"Clank? What did he mean by that? What is coming to us? Is it bad?"

"I...I do not know, Circuit," Clank replied, bringing her closer. "But whatever it is, I am guessing that you are right, and that it cannot be good. However, we must stay strong, and not reveal any information about the clock. You must remember that."

Circuit nodded her head in understanding. After a few moments, her shaking started up again, and tears began rolling down her face once more. "I...I am scared...I want Ratchet..."

"Do not worry, Circuit. I am sure that Ratchet and Sasha are on their way right now."

 _Meanwhile, back on Planet Hoven..._

"What do you mean you don't have a working ship?" Ratchet asked with a bit of irritation.

"I'm sorry, Ratchet," Edwina said. "But I just don't have one up and runnin' right now."

After the Phoenix left and Sasha cleaned up Ratchet's head would, the two quickly made their way to Edwina's Roboshack to get a ship. But, turned out that Edwina didn't have one, and that didn't help the situation at all. If Ratchet and Sasha didn't have a ship, then they had no way to go after the Phoenix and get Clank and Circuit back. It was just problem after problem today.

"Isn't there anything that you have that can get us into space somehow?" Sasha pleaded.

"I've told you before, the only thing I have here is spaceship parts; not an actual spaceship."

"Can we use the parts to repair the broken down ship then?" Ratchet asked, his mechanic instinct kicking in.

"Well...I guess you could try. What are y'all worked up about anyway? Doesn't have anything' to do with that invasion does it?"

"Yes, it does," the Lombax said firmly. "The person who conducted that invasion took Clank and Circuit."

Edwina gasped, her eyes going a bit wide. Then an angry look came onto her face as she pounded a fist on the counter, "Why those dirty sons of bitches! Y'all follow me to the back where I keep the ship parts so we can get workin' on this thing already!"

Ratchet, Sasha and the soldiers watched as Edwina gathered up some tools in a toolbox and went out the back door. They did what she said and followed her, finding themselves in a large fenced area littered with ship parts. Ratchet took a deep breath as he remembered when he had built a ship himself. He also remembered how he crashed it within ten minutes of flying it. What a ride that was.

Sasha leaned in towards Ratchet, "We're going to repair a broken down ship? Won't that take awhile?"

"Not if you have an expert mechanic like me," Ratchet said confidently. "I've been fixin' ships since I was little. No craft can bring me dow-OWN!" The Lombax yelped as he hit his knee, hard, on an old and rusty wing that was sitting lazily on the ground. Sasha chuckled.

"I guess you finally met your match."

"Shut up..." The Lombax said, limping over to Edwina, who was standing in front of the run down ship. Ratchet looked up at it. Man, we she said 'run down' she meant run down. The ship was eleven percent metal and eighty-eight percent rust. The windshield was shattered, glass covering the torn up seats and steering wheel. Both wings were bent at an odd angle and missing big chunks of metal (or rust) out of them. And it didn't even have any thrusters, the back of it was totally empty. Ratchet whistled, he really had his work cut out for him. But he had to go through with it if he wanted to get his friends back quickly. He grabbed his Omniwrench off of his back and twirled it. "Guess we oughta get started."

"I must warn ya," Edwina said, "this clunker hasn't flown since I found it seven years ago. So I can't guarantee that it'll work one ya fix it up."

"Trust me, it'll run," Ratchet said, walking over to the ship and observing. However, as he looked over all of the broken parts and rust, a shadow of doubt casted on him, and his confident look disappeared. If this ship didn't run, then they were stuck here while Wyre made away with Clank and Circuit. He brushed some rust off of the hull and said under his breath, "It has to run..."

Sasha walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look up at her. She did indeed notice the sudden mood change in him, and she wanted to let him know that everything would be alright. "Hey, don't worry. Once we get this ship up and working, we'll get to the Phoenix, kick Wyre's butt, and get Clank and Circuit back."

Ratchet nodded, agreeing with her plan, then got to work on the ship. As he walked away, Sasha picked up something that he was saying very, very quietly, "I'm not gonna kick Wyre's butt...I'm gonna kill him."

 _Back at the Phoenix..._

Inside the small cell inside the Phoenix brig, Circuit, who had calmed down once everyone left, sat in the corner, observing her tail to make sure that no damage had been caused from when she fell on it, and Clank simply sat there next to her, his back and the back of his head against the wall. Wherever Dukes was taking them, it sure was taking them awhile to get there. And the silence of the brig and the lack of people coming to the cell seemed to make the journey just plain eerie. Hours felt like that they were turning into days. The two actually wanted to get to the destination just so the suspense would go away.

After a few more minutes of looking over her tail, Circuit sighed and set it in her lap, "Well, besides scratching some of the black paint off, there is no serious damage. Thank goodness."

"That is good to hear, indeed," Clank said as Circuit shoved her tail back into her hoodie's tail. The female looked around the cell just so she looked like that she was doing something.

"Where do you think we are going?"

"I cannot be certain. Though I can make an educated guess based on what Dukes has told us. I would tell you, but...I do not think that you will like hearing about that place."

"I believe that I can take it. Tell me...pl-please."

"Well...if the information Dukes has given us was correct...then we should be arriving at-"

A voice rang throughout the entire ship over the intercom, announcing: " _Now arriving at Zordoom Prison._ "

"And that is what I was afraid of," Clank finished. His prediction was right; Dukes had taken them to Zordoom Prison, where the most harshest criminals were kept.

"Zordoom Prison...? Are we being arrested?" Circuit asked worryingly.

"No, no arrested...but I have a feeling that they have something much worse in store for us."

As if on some sort of cue, the door to their cell swung open and in came two robot wolves, making Circuit yelp. But they didn't pounce on them as Dukes and Wyre entered the cell as well. They both had anxious looks on their faces as they smiled down at the two Zoni. Circuit quickly pulled her hood up and attempted to block their creepy faces with it. But she could feel them coming through the hood. Dukes then suddenly raised a finger.

"Alright, Zoni, this is your last chance. If you don't tell me where the clock is, then you'll have to be punished for not cooperating. So this is the last time that I'll ask this nicely: where is the clock?"

"We will never tell you," Clank said firmly. Circuit nodded in agreement. Dukes shrugged.

"Oh well, we tried. I guess we'll have to do this the hard way. We made sure that one of the torture chambers is clear, right?"

Wyre nodded, "Yep, we've got one prepped and ready to go."

"Perfect. Now then, because I am a man of manners, ladies first."

Circuit felt her heart rate skyrocket as Wyre and his wolves walked forward and reached for her. Her eyes were as wide as they could go. Torture? She didn't want to go through that! She thought that getting a little shock by the Mag-Net was painful, but full on torture? No way! She would break down in a matter of seconds!

The small robot coward as Wyre came closer. But, before the doctor could even lay a finger on her, Clank sprang up and karate chopped his hand. He stood defensively in front of Circuit as Wyre stepped back, holding his now dented hand.

"OW! Why you miserable little-" Wyre started, but Dukes held a hand up, telling him to cut his insult short. He then glared down at Clank, the electric blue glow of his eye reflecting off of the Zoni's shiny silver metal.

"You don't want her to go first? Fine. I guess you'll be taking her place."

Clank's barely had time to react as Wyre lunged forward and grabbed hold of him. The small robot squirmed in the strong grip, but they had really used the Mag-Net to their advantage, and found himself still being too weak and tired. When Wyre stepped out of the cell with him, he found himself being passed off to a much larger robot, most likely a Zordoom Prison security bot.

"Take him to the torture chamber," Wyre commanded.

The security bot nodded and began walking away with Clank. But, before he was out of earshot, he yelled, "Circuit! Do not worry about me! Just remember: do not tell them about the clock! Or else the entire universe could be put in danger-off!" The robot stopped as he received a rough punch to the stomach by the bot holding him. Then he was gone, leaving Circuit with Dukes, Wyre and two wolves. She looked up at them with innocent eyes, but their combination of mesmerizing yellow and electric blue overpowered her calming purple. Dukes placed his hands on his waist and gave her a disapproving look.

"Well, looks like that you got lucky. A bit unlucky for your friend though, huh? Because of you, he's gonna be in a world of suffering within a few minutes here. Sucks for him, huh?"

Circuit didn't reply. She just turned her head away and hugged Little Ratchey tight. They were right; it was her fault that Clank was about to be...be tortured. She could already hear the painful screams coming from him as they did god knew what to him. She shouldn't have let him take her place. She should have just knocked him out of the way when he was protecting her, then this wouldn't have been happening.

A wolf suddenly appeared behind Circuit, making her nearly wet herself (thank goodness she didn't. Once was enough.), and it bit down on her hood and lifted her up. It trotted over to Wyre and he reached down and took the hood himself. He placed a hand on his waist as he looked at her, occasionally swinging her back and forth just to annoy her (and to make her a bit dizzy). "Come on, we've got a nice little cell for you and your friend. And by nice, I mean depressing, and by friend, I mean the guy that you just sent to the torture chamber."

"Shu...shut up," Circuit said quietly, covering her audio sensors. Wyre shook his head disapprovingly.

"Now now, no need to be rude. You know what happens to rude robots? They get to play Dinnertime with the wolves." He whistled, getting the wolves' attention, then he waved Circuit around. "Hey guys! Dinnertime!"

The wolves bounded towards their master and jumped up at their meal. Wyre held her up so the wolves would have to jump in order to get her. Circuit let out little screams as sharp teeth bit at her legs and feet. One of them managed to grab a bit of her skirt, and she had to yank it out of its mouth in order for it not to pull it down. But it did take a good piece of it, and that made the girl's face go red. Even Wyre looked a little uncomfortable, "Oh...okay, yeah, sorry about that. I-I know that I'm a bad guy but...my god, that is not alright. We've had enough fun here, let's get you to your new cell."

Circuit covered the part of her skirt that had been torn off and watched the wolf tear up the ripped off piece. The female robot grimaced as she took a peek at the bare spot. She would have to fix it once she gets to her new cell. That is, if she was going to be allowed to move and not put into another Mag-Net prison.

But thinking about fixing her skirt seemed to be shoved into the back of her concerns. She was about to be locked up in a prison and soon tortured. Plus, Clank was being tortured at the moment, and he was probably still keeping his mouth shut about the clock. Speaking of which, Circuit still had to remember that she couldn't say anything about the Great Clock, no matter what they do to her. But that was what she was worried about the most; what if she couldn't take what they did to her? What if did tell them secret information about the clock? Clank would be so disappointed in her, and no doubt Ratchet would be too. But, even though Clank wasn't with her, she had to remain strong. Or else, as Clank had said, the entire universe could be put into danger. Circuit could feel the weight of the universe on her shoulders, and only time would tell if she would keep standing strong or collapse.

* * *

 **Okay, so there wasn't any actual torture in this chapter, but there is some happening off screen/text. But NEXT chapter will have some for sure. So y'all got lucky this chapter.**

 **Also, two announcements:**

 **One- IT'S APRIL! Ratchet and Clank month is here! I am SO excited! Imma play the game then I'll see the movie! It's gonna be awesome!**

 **Two- IT'S SPRING BREAK! I'm going to Delaware for the week on Monday, so if any of you live in Delaware, Imma comin' to your state! I can't wait to go to Philadelphia! It's gonna be so much fun!**

 **BUT, because I'll be on vacation and I don't know if our hotel will have Wi-Fi or not, I may not post any updates or oneshots Monday-Friday next week. So I'm gonna try to fit in as many updates for this, Follow the Universe, Little Brother 2 and get this week's Weekly Oneshot as possible before I leave.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


	28. Chapter 28

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence and torture. Read at your own risk.**

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The cell was dark and small, having the feel of a broom closet, only composed of metal and darkness. The door was several inches thick, with a small window near the top with several bars nearly closing it up. It was a depressing little cell, with no sense of coziness at all. Not to mention that it was cold and almost seemed like that there was no energy or life flowing through it. Lifeless. It was a lifeless cell. But, the robot occupying it was full of life, and also fear.

Circuit shook a bit as she snipped off a black thread, tugging on her skirt to make sure that it wouldn't rip off. She was happy that she still had that fabric stored in her so she could fix her skirt. That stupid wolf just had to tear a piece off. But, everything was fine now. Well...not really...everything was the opposite of fine.

After putting her materials away, the small robot curled up into a small ball and rested in the cell corner, worry and fear clearly present in her violet eyes. Her heart was pulsing fast as dark thoughts raced through her head. Every tiny sound made her jump and dart her head around. And every time she found out that it was nothing she just slumped back into her position. She had never been this paranoid before (and that was really saying something). Everything around her, the people outside, the facility she was in and just the walls of the cell were seen as a threat to her. She couldn't feel anymore unsafe. And without Clank by her side, she had no one to help, guide or protect her if something or someone came for her. And that was her fault.

Circuit grabbed the sides of her head as she thought about the painful screams of Clank. She couldn't imagine the kinds of torture that they were putting him through. And she knew that he wouldn't talk. When it came to keeping a secret, Clank would never break if someone wanted him to spill one. He was that dedicated. But now his dedication was being turned into pain that could easily break and possibly kill him. If only Circuit went to the chamber first, then Clank could have found a way out of here or contacted Ratchet, and this whole ordeal could have been over. But she had to let Clank go instead. And she cursed herself for allowing that. She hoped that she could see him soon so she could know if he was alright or not.

"Open up on Cell Z-I!" A voice suddenly called out, startling Circuit.

A large beep then rang out, and the door to the cell shifted and slid open, along with come flashing orange and red lights. A large robot walked up in the doorway, tossing something that it was carrying in its clawlike hands into the cell. Clank landed on the floor with an unsettling 'clunk' and moaned weakly. He held his stomach and his head, as if he was in a great amount of pain. Circuit quickly scooted over to him and held his head, looking at her friend with great pity and fear. She had never seen Clank so helpless before. It was almost too much for her to see.

"Clank...?" Circuit asked quietly. "Clank, can you hear me?"

What she got in return wasn't quite a response. Clank's stomach lurched and he coughed up oil, which sprayed on the floor in front of his mouth. This made Circuit fall onto her rear and her eyes widen and shock. What...what did they do to him? There was barely any damage on the outside, so what did they do to put him in so much pain? She tried her best not to imagine the torture methods. It would only end up scaring her more.

Doctor Wyre appeared in the doorway, his wolves growling as they came to his side. They glared at Circuit, who shrunk at their haunting gaze. She had a feeling about what was about to happen next. Sure enough, Wrye nodded his head, and the large robot guard came into the cell and prepared to grab Circuit. She flinched, waiting for the clawed hands to grab her. However, instead, she felt the weight of a metal object. She opened her eyes and saw Clank sitting in front of her. He shook his head.

"N-No, please, do not put her through that!" Clank pleaded.

"Hmph," Wyre placed his hands on his waist, "if you don't want us to take her, you'll tell us where the Great Clock is."

"..." the small robot attempted to think of something to say. But...he just couldn't. He was stuck. He couldn't reveal the location, but he didn't want Circuit to go to the torture chamber.

The silence seemed to give Wyre his answer, and the guard grabbed Circuit. The girl shrieked and squirmed and reached her hand out, "AHH! No! No! Clank!"

"Circu-ERG!" Clank had reached out for her, but he quickly withdrew himself as he grabbed his stomach in pain.

"Clank..." Circuit whimpered, getting one last look at him before the cell door was slammed shut. He looked like that he was in a lot of pain. Hopefully he would recover during the time that she was going to be away.

The robot guard carried her down the dark corridors of the prison, Dr. Wyre stayed close with some of his wolves travelling besides him. Circuit stayed frozen in the guard's grip, worried about what would happen if she squirmed or tried to escape. She looked at the cell's that they passed on the way. There were some scary looking people in this prison. There were large reptilian men, big orange monsters with glowing yellow eyes, some buff looking guy with blonde hair, and, for some odd reason, a floating pair of eyes in what looked like a trash bin. Weird.

Each inmate stared at the passersby with unsettling expressions. It was like their eyes seeped tension and hatred. They made Circuit feel uncomfortable. She wondered what some of them did in order to be locked up like this. But one look would tell her that these people had done some horrible things, whether it be stealing, breaking something, or perhaps even murdering someone. Except for the floating eye man; she wasn't too sure what to make of him.

Wyre's wolves suddenly bounded ahead, stopping at a nearby door that Wyre himself stopped at and unlocked with a passcode. A large beeping sound was heard and the door slip open. Wyre nodded his head towards the room and the robot guard stepped into the room. Circuit shifted uncomfortably and made a small 'mmph' noise as she was brought into a dimly lit room. She scanned it in order to see the contents inside. There were all sorts of weapons, hammers, flails, and tasers lying around, as well as chains and laser cuffs. She could definitely see why this was called the 'Torture Chamber'. And it made her stomach upset.

Only several question remained for her now: what were they going to do to her? How long were they going to do it? Would it leave her in pure agony like Clank? She had never been tortured before, so she didn't know what quite to expect. Al she knew was that it was going to be a scary experience and her heart was already racing.

The robot guard brought Circuit over to what looked like a black metallic pedestal. She tried to see what was going on in the dim light, but the only thing that she could see clearly were Wyre's glowing yellow eyes. He reached up and pulled down two cuffs that were attached to laser chains that hung from the ceiling. The robot guard kept Circuit still as he clamped the cuffs around both of her wrists and made sure that they were secure. He then tugged on the chains and they shot up, forcing Circuit to sit on her knees and her arms and hands suck in the air. The small robot whimpered. She remembered being in a position similar to this and it was not pleasant at all.

"Lucius gave me the task of breaking you two Zoni and getting you to spill your secrets," Wyre said, walking up next to a table with several 'tools' on it. His eyes narrowed a bit as his hand hovered over them, "You're a young one, and no doubt weaker than your friend. So, before we have to...get started...I'll give you this one chance. Give me the coordinates of the Great Clock and reveal your Zoni secrets to me, and we can all get along nicely. I'll even repair your friend."

Circuit wasn't sure what to say now; she had told them the truth earlier. So she shook her head, "I told you, I do not know where the Great Clock is! Honest!"

Wyre let out a small huff that made Circuit shift uncomfortably in her cuffs. The doctor's yellow eyes scanned the tools in front of him and picked out what looked like a baton with two metal spikes at the end. He grabbed both ends and pulled, extending it, then he stepped in front of Circuit, who was trembling already. Wyre clicked a button on the baton looking item and had the spikes make contact with her palm, sending a sharp blast of electricity through it.

"OW!" Circuit yelped, jumping in her place. Her eyes then went wide as she then realized what she was looking at. That wasn't a baton...it was a taser!

"Yeah, that hurt, didn't it?" Wyre said, raising an eyebrow. "Now, I'll ask you again. Where is the Great Clock?"

"I don't know! I do not, I swear!" Circuit yelled with plea.

The doctor huffed again and narrowed his creepy eyes. He then glanced at the robot guard and nodded, "Lift up her shirt. Open the chest compartment."

Circuit's purple eyes went wide and she thrashed a bunch as the robot guard grabbed the bottom of her purple shirt and lifted it up, stopping only when it was able to open her chest compartment. She stared in horror at her open chest compartment and tried her best to close it, but she couldn't with her hands chained up like they were. Wyre stepped close to her, getting her attention. He twirled the taser in his hands, flexing his fingers. Then, he stepped forward and thrusted the taser into Circuit's chest compartment.

Circuit screamed in pain as an excruciatingly painful surge of electricity was sent throughout her whole body. Her limbs jerked as her systems were sent into a frenzy. She had never felt so much pain in her lifetime, not even when that robot commando once tried to crush her. This must have been why Clank kept grabbing his stomach in pain, because he was tasered in his chest compartment as well.

Wyre pulled the taser out of Circuit and fell limp, the chains being the only things holding her up. She coughed a few times and her eyes flickered, then she looked up at Wyre, who seemed to have no look of regret or pity on his face. Just a cold hard stare. He raised that taser again and spoke in a more serious voice.

"I'm not playing around. Tell me where the clock is or I'll shove this right back in there!"

"Pl-Please! You must believe me!" Circuit cried, tears running down her face. "I do not know where it is! I don't! I really don't!"

"ERG!" Wyre growled.

The taser went straight back into Circuit's chest compartment, and she received the same painful electrical surge as before, making her scream again. The spikes felt like that they were penetrating the walls of the compartment this time. It seemed like that Wyre was already frustrated by her. After not being able to get the first Zoni to talk, he was probably in a bad mood already, so he was just flat out angry at this point.

What felt like an eternity passed by, and the torture was still going. Circuit had endured multiple tasers to the chest compartment and several to her hands and wrists, but her answer to Wyre's question remained the same every time. She didn't know where the Great Clock was. She pleaded for him to believe her, because she was telling the truth. But Wyre kept calling her a liar and kept electrocuting her, becoming very impatient when it came to getting his answer. Circuit didn't know how much more of this she could take. Tears kept flowing down her face and her whole body was shaking. Wyre kept trying to break her, but she had nothing to tell. She just wanted him to realize that so he would stop doing this to her. And she thought that she had gotten her wish when Wyre suddenly backed away and put the taser to his side.

Circuit watched with curiosity and fear as Wyre twisted the taser and returned it to its normal length and placed it on the table. His hand hovered over the table again as his yellow eyes glared at her, "I'll give you this, you sure are a stubborn little piece of crap. But, when you're like that, you're only digging yourself deeper."

"Please...please listen to me..." Circuit said weakly, sniffling a bit. She had to try and say something that would convince him, but whatever she ended up saying was just a recycled answer from before. "I do not know where the Great Clock is...I do not..."

"Yes you do! You're a Zoni! And therefore, you have once been to the clock and must know where it's location is!" Wyre snapped.

"Th-That is just it...I have been to the clock, but...but I was never told its actual location...I do not know where it is..."

The doctor glared at Circuit with an unbelieving look, and she felt fear shoot into her system. He didn't believe her, did he? If he didn't...was was he going to do with her now? She was going to get her answer as Wyre picked up what looked like a metal glove and placed it on his right hand and forearm. He then looked at Circuit again and talked in a tone that made her feel uncomfortable.

"You know, even though you are a Zoni, you're much less valuable than the prince. Orvus's son was our main target, and we just picked up you are debris along the way. Which means that you're not necessarily as important to us as your friend. However..." Wyre walked over to her and got close. Real close. As in right next to her and touching her face close. He grabbed Circuit's head and forced her to look at him. "The Zoni Prince does not have eyes like yours. My, they are beautiful, aren't they? I wouldn't mind having one of my own. Anyway, are you ready to put this whole thing behind us and simply give us the location of the Great Clock?"

"I...I-I...I..." Circuit shuddered as she was forced to stare into Wyre's eyes. She then shook her head a bit, "I...I told you...I do not know where it is..."

Wyre's eyes narrowed a bit and he stood up straight, "I see. Hey...remember when I said that I would like a purple eye? _How about I use one of yours?_ "

The metal glove on Wyre's arm sparked and a Razor Claw then shot out of it. Wyre then growled as he shoved the plasma blade into Circuit's left eye, making the young robot scream in pain once more. She squirmed and thrashed as the doctor moved the blade around, disconnecting anything that was in her eye socket. Wyre then ripped the blade out roughly, pulling out glass and a mess of wires, which splatted on the floor in a pool of oily blood. He stepped away from Circuit, who was gasping and loudly whimpering in horrible pain. Her entire left eye was gone. All that was left was a bloody eye socket.

"Eh, I've never been that good at eye surgery," Wyre said as he shrugged and wiped some blood off of him. Several of his wolves then rushed over and began eating what was Circuit's left eye, wires and all. The doctor chuckled and then looked at Circuit, who looked almost dead at this point. "So...you feel like telling me where the clock is?"

"I...I...I don't..." Circuit couldn't even finished what she had to say. She was in too much pain to even speak.

"Ah, I think that we've officially broken this thing. I guess we'll come back to you later. Take her back to the cell. I've got to clean up the mess that her body made on the floor."

Wyre waved her off and the cuffs released her, but Circuit collapsed, barely able to stand with what strength she had left. The robot guard grabbed the back of her hoodie and took her out of the room, several wolves wanting to follow because they could smell the blood coming out of her. She covered her right eye in order to help stop the leaking, but it hardly helped at all. Blood just traveled between her fingers and ran down her palm. It was like the cut in her side all over again only worse.

Inmates watched as this little robot girl with a bloody eye passed by them. They yelled out comments about how this is what it was like to be a criminal, and that having her eye removed was 'gnarly' and 'hardcore'. Circuit didn't listen to any of them. She didn't want anything to do with these criminals. She hadn't done anything wrong and she wanted to point that out to them, but she didn't even want to speak with these people. She didn't want to speak with anyone except Clank. She hoped that he was alright after all of this time, he looked like that he was in a lot of pain when he left. And, from the horrible feeling in her chest compartment, she now knew why.

The robot guard came up to the familiar lifeless cell and opened it, the orange lights flashing as the door creaked open. It then tossed Circuit in and she landed with a painful 'klunk' right next to Clank, who jumped at her sudden appearance. He watched as the cell door closed, not even attempting to escape. Then he crawled over to Circuit and carefully placed his hands on her, asking her if she was alright. His response was Circuit suddenly latching onto him and bawling, though she could only cry out of one eye now.

Clank pulled her away and took a look at the damage done to her, and she explained what they had done to her and how she tried to tell the truth. Though they used the taser like they did with him. he never expected them to remove one of her eyes. He narrowed his eyes in a very angry position and slammed his fist onto the ground, "We must escape this place."

"H-How?" Was all Circuit asked.

"I do not know, but I am sure that we will find a way. We must stay strong, though."

"I do not think that I can...I cannot do that again, Clank. I cannot handle the pain..."

"I know, Circuit, and I am very sorry that you had to go through that traumatic experience. That taser is unforgiving," Clank said, placing a hand on his chest compartment. Circuit nodded and jumped as more blood leaked out of her eye socket. The green eyed robot decided to help, removing his green cloak and placing it over the left side of her face. Then he tried it behind her head so it would stay on, "Forgive me if this ruins the cloak."

"It is okay. The fabric is washer friendly-AGH!" Circuit flinched and held her over the cloak over her eye socket. The emerald green fabric started to become darker and darker as it was stained with blood. "We need to get to Ratchet..."

"I know that we do, but he does not know where we are, and we have no way of contacting him in here." Clank paused for a few minutes and placed a digit on his chin, attempting to bring a plan together. He retraced his memories of when he was walked through the prison. What item in this place could help them contact their friends? An idea suddenly came to him as he remembered something that he saw on his way back to the cell. "I recall seeing a line of phones while I was being brought back to this cell. If we can somehow break out of here, get to those phones and contact Ratchet's communicator, he and Sasha's forces can come and bring Wyre and Dukes down."

"That is a very nice plan, Clank. But...how are we going to get out of the cell? The keypad is on the other side of the door," Circuit said, her eyes narrowing in a sad position.

"That part of the plan requires more thinking time. There is no one here that will let us out of the cell without the intent of harming us-"

Clank and Circuit both jumped as they heard the sound of tapping. Keypad tapping. Someone was coming in. Clank grabbed Circuit and wrapped his arms around her, the female trembling with fear as she thought of the horrible face that they were about to see. Orange lights flickered as the cell door slid open with that awful screeching noise and revealed who it was that opened the cell itself. The two prepared for the worst...but it turned out the worst wasn't the one who unlocked the door. Much to the robots' surprise, it wasn't Wyre or a robot guard or Dukes. Instead, a red Microdrone hovered in, blinking it lights and looking happily at Clank and Circuit.

Circuit looked at what came in and squinted her good eye, "...Arend?"

The Microdrone zipped around happily and nodded, then he went up to Circuit and nuzzled the side of her head, making her giggle. He then zipped back over to the door and used his small arms to motion them out. Arend was telling them to get out of the cell. He was going to help them escape.

"He has come to help us," Clank said with surprise. "He wants to assist in helping us escape this place. It must be as thanks for us helping him back on Planet Hoven."

"I knew that helping him was the right thing to do," Circuit said happily, but she quickly yelped as she felt more pain in her eye socket. "Oww...we must hurry."

"Yes, we must. Arend, Circuit, come close, I believe that I have a plan," the male said with a nod.

The three grouped together and a voice in the back of Clank's head spoke to him. It was his concerned and worried voice. They had to get out of here quickly. With the damaged that he and Circuit had sustained, he wasn't sure if they had time to fail and try again. Not to mention the future torture that was waiting for them. And, with there being two of them, it was only a matter of time before Wyre and Dukes decided that they only needed one Zoni for their task.

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 **It's been awhile since we've heard from main story Circuit, huh? I just kinda lost track of this story after starting a few others, but I think I'm ready to pick it up again.**

 **So, this was a rather...gruesome chapter. But, at least it had a somewhat cheerful ending right? Right? I can't punch you Circuit lovers in the gut anymore, right? (Remembers what I have planned for the next chapter)...R-Right? Heh...ehhhh.**

 **Feel free to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


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